Community Connections

Connecting emerging community leaders with community issues and opportunities

The Prodigy Group is committed to being an active and engaged community member. Community Connections offers Prodigy Group members opportunities to volunteer within our community. We strive to find our members quality volunteer roles that enable them to apply their skills as emerging business professionals while giving back to our community.

Current Volunteer Opportunities

If you are a Prodigy Group member and are interested in one of the below positions, please fill out our Volunteer Application Form and submit it directly to the contact listed on the organization’s form.

The OCTA Collective is looking for a Board Member with Public Relations, Marketing or Communications experience. The OCTA Collective Society is a not-for-profit organization with charity status. Their mission is to provide all children with the opportunity to develop life skills by exploring their potential through arts experiences. ArtsREACH, delivers visual and theatre arts workshops to public elementary schools in the Capital Region, focusing on schools with a high population of children from low income families. Through these workshops, children explore themes such as building safe communities, multicultural understanding and respect for each other. For More information about the OCTA Collective please visit www.octacollective.com Interested parties – please email Lori or Lee at community@prodigygroup.ca

Centennial Daycare Society is seeking individuals to serve a term on their Board of Directors. Time Commitment Required: Evening Board meeting approximately every 1 ½ -2 months; some committee work as needed. Applicants must be: Community members with interest in supporting non-profit child care. Wish to collaborate and maintain positive communication with Board and staff. Knowledge and experience of business/administration, accounting, fundraising and personnel would be great assets to the Board. Minimum a two year commitment. Interested parties- please email Lori or Lee at community@prodigygroup.ca

Victoria Marine Rescue Society is seeking individuals to serve on its Board of Directors. VMRS is a charitable, non-profit, all-volunteer organization that provides financial support to Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary Station 35. Station 35 serves the Victoria area with 24-hour year-round marine search and rescue. Our volunteers rely on the Society to maintain two rescue vessels, provide vital safety equipment, and support on-going training in search and rescue techniques, navigation, seamanship, communications and first aid.

As a Director, you will provide leadership for the Society and help ensure that the Station has the stable financial support it needs to maintain vital search and rescue services. Your governance experience in business or not-for profit organizations will help the Society develop strategies to attract funding from various sources and enhance recruitment of volunteer members. More information about VMRS is at: www.vmrs.org (site also includes info on how to join our rescue crew, which is a separate process). Interested parties- please email Lori or Lee at community@prodigygroup.ca

Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame aims to recognize and celebrate the outstanding performances and contributions of athletes, builders, officials and teams from Greater Victoria who have brought distinction to themselves, their sport, community and country. They encourage the youth of the community to engage in sports and recreational activities in pursuit of a healthy lifestyle.

Generally, a commitment of two years is expected from Board members but those members wishing to make a longer commitment can be accommodated and some of our Directors have a long association with the organization. Board members are expected to attend the meetings and to assume tasks or work on committees as required. As well, when possible, other levels of support should be made to the organization including “in kind” and financial.

All interested persons please contact Lori Munoz or Lee Richardson at communityconnections@prodigygroup.ca, or Nick Tuele, President of Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame, at 250 652 1455.

Downloads:

Friends of Living and Learning Through Loss Society. This organization is seeking 3-4 Board Members. Friends of Living and Learning Through Loss run Good Grief workshops in schools for youth who have recently lost family members or are children of divorce.

More information visit: http://www.teenloss.com/

Candidates must have a belief in the relevance of grief and loss education to the community and:

intermediate computer skills.
business/proposal writing /fund raising skills
financial planning/ budgeting /accounting skills
social media/web site development skills
administrative/clerical skills

All interested persons please contact Lori Munoz or Lee Richardson at communityconnections@prodigygroup.ca

Looking for Volunteers?

If you are an organization who is interested in getting a skilled professional to volunteer for your organization, access to our Community Connections program and be made by filling out this Volunteer Application Request Form describing your volunteer opportunity and emailing it to CommunityConnections@ProdigyGroup.ca. Volunteer opportunities will be vetted by our committee before being forwarded to our members. We are pleased to post volunteer positions that make the best use of our members’ professional skills and provide them with personal and professional development opportunities and increased community connections.

Highlights

Community Advisors to the Victoria Foundation

The Prodigy Group has an ongoing relationship with the Victoria Foundation to act as advisors to the Foundation. Eight highly qualified participants are chosen from our membership to work with the Victoria Foundation and charitable organizations in our region. To date our members have volunteered their time leading strategic planning sessions, reviewing grant applications, developing business plans, helping find office space, delivering fundraising advice and more.

Prodigy Group – Apprentice Challenge

In a partnership with the YM/YWCA of Victoria, the prodigy group held a special event to fundraise for the Partners with Youth program. Youth volunteers ranging from 8-12 were paired with a prodigy group members and an Olympic athlete and were involved in a fun filled, inspirational competition to see which group could raise the most funds selling candy on Halloween. It was a great success with close to $2,000 being raised, which the Prodigy Group was very happy to give back to our community.

Prodigies for Boards of Directors

Our members are professionals whose skills are valued at the board level in charitable organizations. We have faciltited the placement of a number of our members on boards all across our region including:

Victoria Cool Aid Society
Victoria Foundation
Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce

Other Highlights include:

Special Events Coordinator with the Queen Alexandra Foundation
Captain in the 2009 Heart and Stoke Foundation Campaign

Our members that have participated in Community Connections have found this component of the Prodigy Group extremely rewarding, both personally and professionally. We encouraged all interested organizations and prodigy group members to get involved.

Please contact: CommunityConnections@ProdigyGroup.ca for further information.

Latest from Community Connections

(Now Expired) – New volunteer opportunity!

Host Mentor with the Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria

Host Mentoring Services matches internationally trained professionals with mentors in the same or a related career to help newcomers learn about how their profession works in Victoria. Mentors share their professional knowledge and experience from a Canadian perspective, provide encouragement and support to a skilled newcomer, contribute to the betterment of their trade or profession, and learn more about the issues facing new Canadians. This is not a job placement or work experience program, but rather a chance for newcomers and local professionals to learn from each other and exchange professional knowledge.

See the full description or download the application here.

A Leadership Nod from the House

On Tuesday November 1st, the Prodigy Group as well as the Chamber of Commerce, were recognized by the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. The Prodigy Group’s Chair Jesse Szczepanowski and past Chair Janell Karst met members of the house regarding opportunities for emerging leaders in our province.

“I’m pleased to announce several guests who are visiting the House today from the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce, along with a couple of members of what they call their Prodigy Group, which is the group of (emerging) professionals that acts as an adjunct to the Victoria Chamber of Commerce and introduces (emerging) professionals into the networking opportunities available through that organization” said the Hon. K. Falcon., Minister of Finance and Deputy Premier. “I would ask the House to welcome Bruce Carter, John Jurisic, Janell Karst, Jesse Szczepanowski and Dan MacLaren, who’s here from Prince George. Would the House please make them all welcome.”

Minister Falcon acknowledged the Prodigy Group’s efforts towards assisting the province’s emerging leaders; efforts that include partnerships and charitable donations to Junior Achievement and Community Micro Lending. The Minister also expressed a desire to work alongside the BC Chamber of Commerce to develop joint opportunities for collaboration with other BC Emerging Leader groups in the future. The Prodigy Group is honoured to have been recognized by the Minister in support of emerging leadership within the province. This recognition is a great example of how the Prodigy Group’s community connections and mentorship programs are becoming more renowned and respected within the community.

Board Opportunities

Community Micro Lending Fundraiser

Prodigy Group attended the Community Micro Lending Fundraiser event on November 16th along with Mayor Fortin and A-Channel’s Meribeth Burton to present a donation of $4,000 in support of this great initiative (see pictures below).

For more information about Community Micro Lending please visit their web site:

http://www.communitymicrolending.ca

Community Micro Lending is looking for Mentors

You’ll walk alongside your mentee and Community Micro Lending staff as participants move from business idea to business implementation.

Mentorship commitment is once a week for about 8 weeks September to November and then biweekly after until January. (Mentors are able to continue their relationship after January if they wish.) Write to lisa@communitymicrolending.ca if you’re interested in being a mentor.

Community Micro Lending is also looking for volunteers for their Living Library. Become a resource in this library where you would be available on a one-off basis to share your knowledge or skills. The goal of the living library is to provide emerging entrepreneurs with a directory of accessible human resources within Victoria’s community. Living library participants will have the chance to interact and assist youth as they achieve their small-business goals. Write to kate@communitymicrolending.ca if you’re interested in being in our living library.

In partnership with Prodigy Group and in celebration of Small Business Month in British Columbia, Junior Achievement is teaching youth in the Capital Region the Basics of Business.

This October, Junior Achievement will introduce local students in Grade 5 & 6 to the concepts of business organization, management, production and marketing – and you can be a part of it! Prodigy Group members are invited to volunteer four hours of their time in a local classroom to facilitate this inspiring Junior Achievement program; Junior Achievement will host you at a lunch and learn orientation, provide the program and materials to take into the classroom, match you with a class of students and coordinate the schedule to ensure the experience is hassle-free. Volunteer to facilitate on your own or with a fellow Prodigy Group member!

Volunteering for Junior Achievement is a small investment of time with a big impact. Share your real-world business experience with youth in our community during Small Business Month. To register as a volunteer contact Deborah Wakeham, Regional Manager with JA… deborah.wakeham@jabc.org or call 250-380-6765.

Fundraising Efforts helps Micro lending go local

Community Micro-lending, a local entrepreneur empowering organization whom PG’s fundraising efforts benefited in 2009/2010 year, brings soul and savory to the community.

Check out this article in the latest edition of VillageVibe:

Village Vibe_Feb.2011

Teaching youth the basics of business

In celebration of Small Business Month, Prodigy Group has partnered with Junior Achievement to teach youth in the Capital Region the basics of business. This October, Junior Achievement will introduce local students in Grade 5 & 6 to the concepts of business organization, management, production over four hours of in a local classroom. This week, in preparation, Junior Achievement hosted a lunch and learn orientation to help acquaint the Prodigy members with their upcoming teacher duties!

The Prodigy Group Brings Message to Schools

Victoria’s emerging entrepreneurs are bringing the basics of businesses into elementary school classrooms this month.

The Prodigy Group, an offshoot of the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce, is providing mentor speakers to deliver Junior Achievement’s Business Basics Program.