Longtime Volunteer Barbara Herring Shares Highlights From Her Volunteer Experience

“Volunteering at the NCC is the equivalent to world travel,” says long time volunteer Barbara Herring, as the stories and experiences shared with her makes her feel like she has visited another country.

With an employment background in corporate equity and diversity, it was natural that when Barbara settled in Peterborough, she would seek an opportunity to “see a diversity of faces” which she found at the New Canadians Centre.  Barbara moved from Toronto to our community in 2010 and has been involved with the NCC in numerous capacities ever since.

From washing dishes and assisting with set up at special events to tutoring several clients in English to playing a lead role on a GAR support team, and facilitating dance workshops at the women’s group, Barbara has done it all and finds the experience she shares with various cultures “very gratifying.”

Highlights from the last nine years include being declared a “honorary grandmother” by one family she volunteered with, as well as sharing laughter as a facilitator at the women’s group where women demonstrated and taught one another their cultural dances.

Longtime volunteer Barbara Herring

The Volunteer Program at the New Canadians Centre provides several opportunities to connect with the Peterborough community, learn about new cultures, make a difference in someone’s life, and build new skills. We could not operate nor reach our goals without the generous help of our volunteers.

Last year alone, 503 volunteers contributed over 26,000 hours of volunteer work which ranged from tutoring newcomers, leading language and social groups, providing administrative support, helping to facilitate the annual Multicultural Canada Day Festival, and working closely with new Government Assisted Refugee families through Support Groups.