These are your on-campus opportunities

Faculty Leaders (FL) - Fomerly Tours and Activities (TAV)

Approximate time commitment = 60 hours (April - September)

Faculty Leaders or FLs serve as the first point of contact for new students on campus! Faculty Leaders ensure both new and returning students transition smoothly into university life. Responsibilities of Faculty Leaders Volunteers include, but are not limited to:

- New Student Orientation: welcome new students to the university by facilitating campus tours, acting as support for various presentations, participating in panels, and answering questions, both University-wide and faculty-specific, through various means.

- Welcome Events: Faculty Leaders will be assigned a minimum of 3 Week of Welcome shifts such as set-up and take down of WOW Village, Pancake Breakfast, Quad Activities, and MainStage roaming during WOW.

Information and Presentations Facilitator (IPF)

Approximate time commitment = 60 hours (April - September)

Like public speaking or interested in giving presentations? This position is for you! Using personal and professional growth and development, Information and Presentation Facilitator responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

- New Student Orientation: facilitating content and hosting informative, engaging, and exciting sessions about student life, involvement, health and wellness, transition to Univeristy, and healthy relationships.

- Welcome Events: Information and Presentations Facilitators will be assigned a minimum of 3 Week of Welcome shifts such as - Set-up and take down of WOW Village, Pancake Breakfast, Quad Activities, and Mainstage roaming during WOW.

Site and Admin Volunteers (SAV)

Approximate time commitment = 60 hours (April - September)

Site and Admin Volunteers or SAVs provide logistical support throughout the Week of Welcome program. Back-end logistics and implementation are the focus for this group and typical involvement can include, but are not limited to:

- New Student Orientation: registration processes and help desk, technical support, and site-specific set up, maintenance and tear down

- Welcome Events: Information and Presentations Facilitators will be assigned a minimum of 3 Week of Welcome shifts such as - Set-up and take down of WOW Village, Pancake Breakfast, Quad Activities, and Mainstage roaming during WOW.

Faculty Team Facilitators (FTF)

Approximate Time Commitment: 130 hours over 10 months

Faculty Team Facilitators along with other FTFs will lead a team of Faculty Leader volunteers throughout the year. The Faculty Team Facilitator duties will include but are not limited to:

1. Promote the Week of Welcome program during recruitment periods
2. Interview, select and hire Faculty Leader Volunteers to be a part of their team
3. Organize and support team bonding events throughout the summer for all volunteers
4. Facilitate general and specific tour training for Faculty Leaders prior to New Student Orientation
5. Be a knowledgeable first point of contact for both volunteers and new students on campus locations, buildings, and general information.
6. Provide assistance to all Week of Welcome activities such as WOW village, MainStage, and Pancakes

Site Team Facilitator (STF)

Approximate Time Commitment: 130 hours over 10 months

The Site Team Facilitator duties will include but are not limited to:

1. Promote the Week of Welcome program during recruitment periods
2. Help in the Interview period of recruitment
3. Facilitate training for Site Volunteers
4. Providing support and assistance during event set up / tear down, primarily during set up week before New Student Orientation
5. Work “behind the scenes” to help support front-facing aspects of New Student Orientation
6. Provide assistance to all Week of Welcome activities such as WOW Village, MainStage, and Pancakes

Information and Presentation Team Facilitator (IPTF)

Approximate Time Commitment: 145 hours over 10 months

Information Presentation Team Facilitators along with other IPTFs, help to oversee the Information and Presentation Facilitators that make up their team. Their main duty involved presenting Ualberta 101 during New Student Orientation. IPTFs duties include but are not limited to:

1. Promote the Week of Welcome program during recruitment periods
2. Interview, select and hire Information Presentation Facilitators to be a part of their team
3. Organize and support team bonding events throughout the summer for all volunteers
4. Facilitate training for the Information Presentation Facilitators
5. Work to deliver the UAlberta 101 presentation during New Student Orientation
6. Provide assistance to all Week of Welcome activities such as WOW Village, MainStage, and Pancakes

Events Crew Volunteer

Events Crew volunteers serve as an introductory volunteer position with UASUevents. You will work closely with both the Events Crew Leaders, and the UASUevents staff team to have the necessary skills to host the best events on campus. Events Crew Members will help with the setup, execution, and teardown of all major UASU events.

Some of these events include:

• Campus Cup
• Night at the Horrorwitz
• AntiFreeze
• Last Class Bash
• Movie Nights
• Escape Room

NOTE: Because Events Crew members will be hosting Campus Cup and AntiFreeze, you will not be permitted to participate in these events

Events Crew Leader

Events Crew Leaders are the senior events volunteers for UASUevents. They are responsible for assisting in the creation and planning process of campus events, hiring and mentoring a team of General Events Crew volunteers and supervising shifts.

Applications are open. Apply now!

The UASUevents Media Team is responsible for digital media capture for UASUevents. Media Team members will capture photos and videos for Students’ Union Events like Week of Welcome, Night at the Horrorwitz, Campus Cup, AntiFreeze, Trivia Nights, and other events throughout the school year.

Are you a photographer or cinematographer? This is a fantastic opportunity to expand your portfolio, gain professional development from both peers and professionals, and get involved with campus events! Positions are flexible to accommodate busy school and work schedules.

Applications are open.Apply now!

Approximate Time Commitment: 4 hours/week or 16 hours/month (3-4 hours/week of self-scheduled shift room time, 4 hours/month of team time, 2 role-plays per semester)

This position is meant for students who are looking to help clients in a one-on-one and in-person setting. Our volunteers support students in distress or whom are seeking resources for approximately 70 minute sessions. Volunteers are given extensive training in crisis management and active listening to supporting several mental health concerns. Trained staff members supervise volunteers in each session and provide ongoing emotional support if needed. 

Our volunteers also enter a community of empathetic students that have a passion for mental health advocacy. Several professional development sessions are offered each semester to add to volunteer's personal and professional goals. Previous professional development sessions have included; Trauma-Informed Care, Indigenous Youth Suicide Prevention Training, Responding to Disclosures of Sexual Assault, and Community Helpers among others. PSC Alumni have obtained successful careers in Social Work, Law, Occupational Therapy, and Clinical/Counselling Psychology.

Our volunteers are asked to join one of the three following teams:

- Outreach Team: This group is responsible for increasing awareness of the PSC on campus, collaborating with other student groups, and helping do presentations for classes about the services of the centre.

- Social Planning Team: This is an internal team, which aims to promote inter-volunteer familiarity and well-being by providing self-care opportunities and social events for volunteers.

- Training Team: This team organizes and coordinates Ongoing Role-Plays, as well as Personal Development Sessions for volunteers to improve their skills throughout the year.

Successful applicants will be invited to an individual interview typically by the end of May.

Volunteer applications are currently closed!

Senior volunteers (have volunteered for at least 1 year) have the opportunity to be more involved in our centre via several leadership roles.

Leadership Volunteer

Leadership volunteers oversee and lead one of three internal volunteer committees. This role offers extensive opportunities to build project management, conflict resolution, and facilitation skills. These volunteers play an essential role in the operations of our centre. A major responsibility of this role is to ensure team goals are being met, and provide leadership/supervision to 10-15 volunteers in their respective teams.

Role-play Facilitator

Role-play facilitators oversee the facilitation of our ongoing role-plays to support the skill development of volunteers. This role is tasked with leading role-play sessions, scoring, and delivering feedback to volunteers following their role-play. These volunteers also play a significant role in supporting the facilitation of role-plays during our Supportive Listening Training for new volunteers.

Volunteer Application Information

What does our volunteer application process look like? The first step is completing our volunteer application form which asks administrative and scenario questions relative to the issues you are likely to encounter in the PSC. If your initial application is successful, you will be invited to an in-person interview with one of our staff. We aim to contact successful applicants for interviews by the end of May 2023.

Access our Volunteer Application here!

Note: Volunteer applications are only open to current University of Alberta students. All accepted applicants will complete our extensive Supportive Listening Training.

Volunteer Training Information

PSC Volunteer training is composed of two parts; an asynchronous component and several in-person training sessions. If your application is successful, access to our training eclass will be provided to you by early July. Although this asynchronous portion of training is largely self-paced, it will include several mandatory discussion questions to engage your learning at specific checkpoints in the content material. Assessments to test your learning will include short-answer reflections and/or peer roleplays. All modules/portions of the asynchronous training must be completed before attending all in-person training sessions.

Our training involves education and skill training using a Supportive Listening Model for interpersonal interventions, suicide and crisis intervention techniques, grief coping mechanisms. Other skills include socratic questioning, perception checks and voice matching, along with many more!

It's important to know that training is a big commitment, both in terms of time and emotional energy. Please ensure you have capacity to undertake this training and are in a healthy mental space to support someone else.

Our in-person training dates are mandatory. If there is a situation that would prevent you from attending, please notify us at psc@su.ualberta.ca prior to the submission of your application. If you are accepted as a volunteer and your ability to attend a date changes, we ask that you reach out as far in advance as possible in order for us to see if any accommodations can be made.

Selection Process

The selection process for becoming a Peer Support Centre volunteer has several steps. This is to ensure that our volunteers are the right fit for the service and that the service is the right fit for you!

Application Form
Completing our volunteer application form is the first step in our selection process. The form begins by asking you several administrative questions to get to know you better. The later half of the form will include short answer and scenario questions to gauge your capacity to support someone in distress. The form will ask that you provide two professional references, make sure to have their contact information ready before starting. There are no right or wrong answers to these questions. What we're looking for is to see if our values match with yours! Please be as honest as possible. All of the information you share in this application will remain confidential with PSC staff and is only used for the purpose of determining your suitability for this role.

The volunteer application form may take up to 30 minutes to complete. Should you wish to exit the form before submitting, your responses are autosaved in your browser for up to 15 days. If you have any questions about your application, please contact us by emailing psc@su.ualberta.ca

Individual Interviews

Only selected applicants will be asked to arrange an in-person individual interview with a PSC staff member. This one on one interview will last approximately 45 minutes and will include administrative and scenario questions of common situations you would encounter as a PSC volunteer.

Application Review

We will begin to review volunteer applications following the application deadline. If you have any questions regarding the application process at any time, please feel free to email us at psc@su.ualberta.ca.

Approximate Time Commitment: 3 evening hours/week

Safewalk volunteers are expected to be outside and active during their shifts with a fellow patroller. There are other skill building opportunities and fun events that volunteers can choose to take part in as well as plenty of snacks during shifts! It's also an awesome study break and a good way to get some exercise if you prefer patrolling options. Safewalk also believes that no one should walk home alone, so when you're done with your shift, we will make sure that you yourself get home safely!

Safewalk believes in strength in numbers! Anyone is welcome to volunteer in Safewalk, no matter your size, gender, ethnicity, and background.

Applications to be a Safewalk volunteer for the 2024/2025 terms are now open!

Leadership Team

Approximate Time Commitment: 5 hours/week

Leadership Team members (LTs) are responsible for managing one of Sustain SU's projects and overseeing a group of Sustainability Ambassadors. This is a great role to gain leadership experience, and get to know others interested in sustainability.

Leadership Team applications for the 2024-25 academic year are closed. Check back in Summer 2025 for new volunteer opportunities!

Sustainability Ambassadors 

Approximate Time Commitment: 2-3 hours/week

Sustainability Ambassadors (SAs) work collaboratively to brainstorm, plan and execute the events and efforts stemming from these projects. This role allows you to meet new people with a passion for sustainability, work as part of a team, as well as put on great events throughout the year.  

Application for SA positions are now open. The deadline to apply is Friday September 13th, 2024.

Spring/Summer Volunteer 

Our Spring/Summer volunteers are essential to help assist our Campus Gardens and Bike Library & Workshop from May through mid-September. Volunteers will have the opportunity to gain experience in an area they are interested in, work with like-minded individuals as a part of a team, get outside, and promote areas of sustainability we don't get to work on as much during the Fall/Winter months, like sustainable food production and bike rentals!

Spring/Summer Volunteer applications are now closed. Thank you for your interest!

Sustainable Action Team 

The Sustainable Action Team is new to Sustain SU’s programming in 2023 and is a combination of two of our pre-existing programs: the Reusable Dish Program and the Special Projects Team. The Reusable Dish Program (RDP) is a service offered to U of A campus community members and more, providing reusable cutlery, cups and dishes for events and programs. The service is free for those associated directly with the University of Alberta. For those that are not, there is a small fee ranging from $5 to $10 per user based on the number of items ordered. 

Historically, the Special Projects Team has worked to develop special projects in SUB that embody the three pillars of sustainability: economy, environment and equity. Now, as the Sustainable Action Team, they will continue to work on special project development that will support the advancement of the Reusable Dish Program in the Students’ Union Building to effectively mitigate waste of single-use items at events and in SUBs day-to-day operations and other sustainability goals in relation to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.

Outreach Team

The OT operates our blog and podcast. Members of this team have the opportunity to communicate with the greater campus community about sustainability awareness, the development of new and pre-existing programs and initiatives, and to advocate for their own research projects. Their resources for outreach initiatives may include research, surveying, whiteboard writing, interviews, tabling and more! This year, we are also hoping to involve the OT in our social media initiatives by having them research and design some of our posts. The OT will also collaborate with our other project teams to promote their events, projects and programs.

Green for Good Market

The Green for Good Market team is a unique pop-up market operated by Sustain SU five times over the course of the academic year. Starting in Fall 2023, this pop-up will be a combination of two of Sustain SU’s pre-existing programs: the Green Market and the UASU Farmers’ Market. Our mission is to not only provide the campus community with local, sustainable and ethical goods and services, but to raise awareness and increase involvement in sharing, thrifting, and community. Members of this volunteer-led team get to be involved in operational and logistic tasks, promotion campaigns, recruitment of vendors, activity creation, and day-of market management.

Each semester, there will be a period of time where Sustain SU Market Volunteers will collect and sort donations for swap-specific markets, taking place once each semester. Participants of the swap will receive 1:1 credits to use at the swap on the Market day(s). We also will provide an opportunity to welcome campus and community members to come shop the swap items at our pop-up by using credits or purchasing items for $2-$5, as recommended. Alongside the swap, the Green for Good Market team will continue to welcome local Edmonton vendors to our campus. On market days, expect to see vintage curators, sustainable treats, jewelry creators, and more!

Bike Library and Workshop

The Bike Library & Workshop is a community bike shop on campus and is an initiative under Sustain SU. We are fully equipped with the tools and space necessary to repair and maintain bikes. Bike repairs are DIY, however, our volunteers & Bike Library Mechanic can provide guidance and offer some help. Tool and stand use are entirely FREE, but we do take monetary donations! The Bike Library also sells used and new parts such as tubes, tires, and other accessories. We are not taking donations of bikes due to the lack of space, but feel free to donate any parts or components that are not of use to you.

Special Events Team

The Special Events team works to bring sustainable engagement and learning opportunities to volunteers and the campus community. Members of the team will have the opportunity to plan Green Space certified events that can range from campus nature walks to sustainable socials to professional panels. They are also responsible for planning the exciting internal events that help bring our 50+ volunteers together! Notably, the Special Events team will have an active role as a part of the Foundations Summit for Sustainability and Leadership (FSSL), previously titled the Alberta Student Leadership Summit (ASLS). The summit takes place annually; this year it will occur on October 21, 2023! Student volunteers will have an opportunity to participate in the conference, engage with the speakers and attendees, and play a part in the smooth operation of the event. To find out more information about the summit, check-out their website!

In each of these volunteer roles you will have the opportunity to work with like minded individuals, learn from experts, contribute to sustainability initiatives, and be a part of a team.

Campus Garden

Students, staff, and community members are all welcome to participate in this garden project. 

Garden volunteers are responsible for prepping, planting, maintaining and harvesting the garden. The level of experience in gardening ranges from first-time planters to dedicated gardeners. To accommodate the diverse knowledge levels of our gardeners and experiential learning opportunities from seasoned gardeners, volunteer training is ongoing. If you would like to volunteer with us, please drop in during garden hours!

Sustain SU's Campus Gardens Coordinator provides support and knowledge to the volunteers. The Gardens Coordinator also organizes several educational sessions over the summer that provide information on gardening techniques and management.

Approximate Time Commitment: 1-5 hours/week

Volunteers at The Landing operate peer support drop-in hours, run peer facilitated groups, moderate discord, sit on teams like events and education teams and more. 

Volunteer application here