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Welcome to Volunteer Services |
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 Volunteers are essential team members in the successful delivery of services at Geneva Centre for Autism. We encourage you to review our site to familiarize yourself with our program.
You will find this section most helpful if you start by reading Volunteer Opportunities and then Questions and Answers.
These are the steps to becoming a volunteer:
- Complete and submit your online application.
- Our Volunteer Coordinator will review your application and if a match seems possible between your skills and availability - and our openings - we will call you for an interview to determine your suitability for a placement.
- If we say "yes" to each other, then a police check, medical form and reference checks are completed (2 weeks). Most openings commence in September or June of each year.
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Questions and Answers |
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Each placement involves certain skills. Placement involving children requires prior exposure to children in a structured setting, such as schools, hospitals, teams or summer camps. If you do not have this experience, you might be eligible to volunteer to support adult, parent or Centre services.
Placements in our programs are usually for 3 hours weekly for six months or 96 hours of contact time. Compressed programs may also be available, provided that 96 hours of contact time is attained.
Volunteers are not expected to have much exposure to autism. Our main focus is on qualities such as reliability, regularity, and a love for learning. Our orientation and training will help you learn more about the disorder.
After the interview, we will review your skills in light of our needs. Once we offer you a placement, we move on to your reference, medical form and police check. Your first day will usually be two to three weeks after our meeting.
Yes. The availability of practicum placements is dependent upon the availability of Geneva Centre for Autism personnel to provide supervision time. Two months lead time is usually required.
Volunteering at Geneva Centre for Autism can be an advantage in finding a paid contract position. We expect you to demonstrate your skills for at least six months as a volunteer and then when positions open, you may be considered for a short-term, three-hour contract weekly. Former volunteers fill 20% of the Centre’s paid positions. Please do not offer to volunteer if you are actively job searching. A new job might conflict with your volunteering schedule; so contact us after you have secured employment.
As in most social service agencies, volunteers at our Centre must be 16 years of age or older. Experience, judgment and availability are all important qualities in volunteers. When you turn 16, we welcome you to apply for the volunteen program.
Our volunteer program only serves the Greater Toronto area. If you foresee problems with long travel in poor weather, we will suggest alternative volunteer programs closer to your home.
When you can devote at least a three-hour weekly commitment slot for six months, contact us. Persons with autism depend on regular, reliable personal contact, and our programing require this.
Persons with autism find it awkward to deal with changes in their routine, so we permit observation by arrangement with the family and staff. When you start, you will be on probation so you can get a feel for what you will be doing.
We are happy to provide references. We usually give verbal references, unless a written letter is required for academic applications.
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Volunteering 