Volunteer Spotlight: Ariana Kippers
Sharing at ActionDignity’s Volunteer Appreciation Event by Ariana Kippers:
Hello everyone, my name is Ariana Kippers and I have been a Dover resident and volunteer for many years. I am honored to speak to you all this evening about my experiences with volunteering. I hope I can inspire you or provide you with some ideas on ways to continue your thoughtful work, while still honoring yourself and your values.
I have volunteered alongside some amazing members of ActionDignity for the past 3 years. My journey of service within Greater Forest Lawn started in 2020 with The Parent Support Network. Being new to volunteering in this area, I felt scared at the beginning, but with the support of Linh and Sukhwant from ActionDignity, as well as other City employees and volunteers, I was able to find my skills quickly and apply them to my volunteering work effectively.
I am grateful for those initial months as they helped me utilize and grow those skills that benefited me immensely 3 years later. ActionDignity guided me with my ideas and provided me with answers to questions I did not know. They were available and ready to support me as I planned various events in the community, and I have always shown value and appreciation to volunteers, which is so important.
As a volunteer, your main goal is typically to help others. This can look different for everyone but most aspects of maintaining volunteers are the same. Valuing and appreciating them, while finding their abilities and strengths to help maintain their drive, passion and motivation for volunteerism. If you see that event planning spark, that leadership spark or that idea lightbulb goes on, ask questions and make them feel comfortable to open up and share their thoughts. You all have amazing ideas that are worth talking about and actioning, and I promise you the opportunities for achieving what you hope for are within reach. You may hit a wall once but upon taking other paths you will find that other doors are there for you to open and explore.
Some of the advice I can offer to you today and that I hope you will remember are:
1. No idea is a bad idea! Maybe it needs refining and that’s where other organizations can help you out. From fine-tuning your plan, to learning about available grants, or other groups you could work with. It is a team effort which you should lean on.
2. Ask the questions, ask ask ask and don’t feel bad about it (so long as you are always kind). You don’t know everything, but someone else might and they will share their knowledge with you once you have built that positive relationship using excellent listening skills.
3. Include your family and friends. Make new friends and listen to what they say, so you can help integrate them into this life and work on projects that they are passionate about. My demographic is families. That’s a large percentage of people and their age, race, location, none of it matters. Find yours and run with the ideas that will benefit them.
We are all connected, and we can all help make Calgary a better place for everyone because we all deserve that. Change starts at the bottom, so keep pushing forward, find and grow your community, and don’t be afraid or shy because your voice and ideas matter and they deserve to be heard.
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