On October 22 and 23, the Ontario Community Support Association hosted its Community Connect conference, bringing together over 400 professionals from the home and community care sector.

CHATS Christine McGregor and Jessy Brown led one of the breakout workshops, presenting the Volunteer Refresh Project. The Volunteer Refresh is a project CHATS completed in 2023/24 with the purpose of creating and implementing a new vision for the CHATS Volunteer Program. During the session, they highlighted key project outcomes, including how the program successfully doubled our volunteer numbers and strengthened volunteer engagement across multiple programs.

Attendees learned about the strategies, challenges and successes of the project, gaining insights into volunteer engagement and retention that could be applied in their own organizations. The session sparked lively discussion and highlighted the importance of volunteers as essential partners in delivering high-quality, person-centered care.

It was an exciting opportunity to share CHATS’ work, celebrate the contributions of our volunteers and inspire other organizations to innovate and expand their own volunteer programs.