Alternative Reading Week

Alternative Reading Week. Two students working on a project.

Volunteer Applications are now open! Apply by Friday, February 2, 2024. Preference for project selection will be given to early applications.

Start your journey of community involvement and leadership with Alternative Reading Week (ARW). ARW is a three-day initiative where students join together in teams to tackle projects presented by our community partners.

Benefits

  • Participate in community-led projects that have a positive impact.
  • Complete the full program during reading week.
  • Get CCR recognition for your time.
  • Build connections with community partners & your peers.
  • Gain hands on experience with important soft skills like teamwork, public speaking, and problem-solving.
  • Delve deeper into a cause that is important to you.

Program Structure

  • Complete application and online training modules prior to the experience.
  • Volunteer from 9am to 4pm for Tuesday to Thursday of the Winter Reading Week.
  • Complete your community-initiated project with a team of other student volunteers and an ARW Community Leader.
  • Complete an online reflection survey after the experience.

Project will be offered in three different modalities, on campus, on site and hybrid. See below for more information on what the structure will look like for each.

 On CampusOn SiteHybrid**
 All project work & activities will be completed on campus.Project work will be completed on campus and on site with the community organization. * Project work on Day 1 & 2 will be completed virtually. 

Day 1 

Tuesday Feb. 20th

On-Campus Orientation & Project WorkOn-Campus Orientation On Site Project WorkVirtual Orientation & Project Work

Day 2

Wednesday Feb. 21st

On Campus Project WorkOn Site or On Campus Project WorkVirtual Project Work

Day 3 

Thursday Feb. 22nd

On-Campus Prep for & Delivery of Impact Fair

*Transportation from UTM to community organizations will be arranged and covered by the program.

**All volunteers will be expected to come in person on Day 3 to prepare for and present at the Impact Fair.


Reading Week 2024 Projects

Volunteer Applications are now open! Apply by Friday, February 2, 2024. Preference for project selection will be given to early applications.

Hybrid

Organization: Family Services of Peel _Peel Institute of Research and Training

FSP was established in 1971 as a non-profit charitable organization to provide family and community support services for the people of Peel Region. As a multi-service agency sensitive to cultural and social diversity, FSP provides professional counselling, educational programs, employment support services, support for people with developmental disabilities and their families, and support for victims of trauma, violence, and abuse. To ensure thehighest standards of care for our clients and community, we have experienced, qualified, and skilled professionalswho work from a person centred anti-oppression, anti-racism framework. Through leadership, research, collaboration and innovation, we support families and individuals in Peel to transform their lives.

Project

Support Family Services of Peel to develop a Knowledge Transfer Strategy for the Building Equitable Economies for Immigrants and Refugees in Peel report. Transfer the knowledge acquire in our academic project to an audience of services providers.

Project Deliverables

  • Production of a poster & postcard
  • Improvement of project webpage

Helpful Skills

  • Communication & Teamwork
  • Critical Thinking
  • Innovation & Creativity
  • Marketing & Design
  • Equity and Inclusion

Academic Areas

  • Communications and Technology
  • Sociology 
  • Psychology

OrganizationVarman's Smile Foundation

Varman's Smile Foundation aspires not only to raise awareness about mental health issues but also to create an open and inclusive space for individuals to speak openly and without judgment. The foundation aims to promote mental health in homes, schools, and workplaces, prevent mental illness and suicide whenever possible, and address Canadian mental health policy issues. Additionally, Varman's Smile Foundation hosts various workshops and events catering to diverse interests.  This foundation was established in honour of Abivarman Arulpirarangah, who silently suffered alone and passed away on March 2nd, 2019. Varman's Smile Foundation works diligently to promote mental health initiatives and awareness in our community, ensuring that others do not suffer in silence.

Project

The challenge at hand is addressing the prevalent issue of burnout within university students. The team of volunteers will focus on understanding and alleviating the factors contributing to burnout in order to enhance the overall well-being and academic success of students.

The project aims to develop and implement strategies to combat burnout among university students. Volunteers will work on creating resources, campaigns, or support systems that address the specific stressors and challenges faced by students, fostering a healthier and more resilient academic community. The goal is to provide practical solutions and support mechanisms to mitigate burnout and promote mental well-being within the university environment.

Project Deliverables

  • Comprehensive Burnout Assessment
  • Burnout Resource Toolkit for Students

Helpful Skills

  • Communication & Teamwork
  • Compassion
  • Critical Thinking
  • Problem Solving
  • Innovation & Creativity

Academic Areas

  • Psychology 
  • Communications and Technology
  • Art and Visual Studies 
  • Management 
  • Sociology 

OrganizationA Greener Future

A Greener Future is an environmental non profit that brings together community we facilitate programs that eliminate waste from the environment. As education is at the centre of what we do, we inspire change through a variety of learning opportunities. Our programs raise awareness about plastic pollution in the Great Lakes Region, and detailed data collection sheds a light on the most common items that are found during litter cleanups. Our cleanups serves people of all ages.

Project

Every year throughout the month of April we run our Butt Blitz program where we remove cigarette butts from the environment and collect data. We work with community leaders and organizations to coordinate local cleanups and educate people about the impacts smoking litter has on the environment. We would like to grow this program within post-secondary institutions as it is a great leadership experience for students.

We are hoping to engage and connect with environmental groups at post-secondary institutions, to gauge interest in coordinating Butt Blitz events in their school communities.

Project Deliverables

  • Communications Plan
  • Prospect research
  • Social media campaign

Helpful Skills

  • Leadership & Initiative
  • Marketing & Design
  • Research & Data Analysis
  • Communication & Teamwork
  • Social Justice & Advocacy

Academic Areas

  • Communications and Technology
  • Geography and Environment
  • Art and Visual Studies 

On Campus

Organization: Caledon Dufferin Victim Services

Provides in person or telephone support to victims of crime and tragic circumstances 24/7-365

Project

The work of the organization is carried out by very small staff team and volunteers. Volunteerism is down 30-50% across the country and this is creating a challenge. Staff teams are burning out and existing volunteers are leaving. We wish to enhance our volunteer recruitment strategy by learning WHY various populations volunteer and what they hope to gain from the experience. What is the driving factor that causes newcomers; older adults; 40-55 age group; younger males etc to volunteer? How can we use this info to enhance our volunteer recruitment strategies?

We are hoping to learn about the driving factors that cause certain populations to volunteer and create targeted ads for those groups.

Project Deliverables

  • Volunteer Research Report

Helpful Skills

  • Critical Thinking
  • Communication & Teamwork
  • Research & Data Analysis
  • Problem Solving

Academic Areas

  • Anthropology 
  • Psychology 
  • Sociology 
  • English and Drama

Organization: Community Living Mississauga

Community on Campus is a program offered by Community Living Mississauga in collaboration with University of Toronto Mississauga that provides a university experience for people from the community who have an intellectual disability. Community on Campus participants and UTM student volunteers participate in various social, recreational and educational opportunities on campus. Community on Campus is a program offered through Community Living Mississauga, a non-profit organization that has been providing supports and services to people who have an intellectual disability for over 65 years.

Project

Reviewing our current orientation process to ensure it is relevant, applicable, interactive and engaging. Providing an effective comprehensive orientation process for students who volunteer with Community on Campus.

Review and revise our orientation process and materials for Community on Campus.

Project Deliverables

  • Revised orientation process
  • Updated orientation materials

Helpful Skills

  • Critical Thinking
  • Problem Solving
  • Organization
  • Innovation & Creativity
  • Communication & Teamwork

Academic Areas

  • Psychology 
  • Sociology 
  • Political Science
  • Communications and Technology
  • Biology, Chemical and Physical Sciences 
  • Management 

Organization: Start2Finish

Start2Finish is a national nonprofit that works with elementary school students in over 70 communities experiencing poverty across Canada. We offer free after school running & reading clubs that focus on physical activity, literacy development and social emotional-learning.   Our mission is to break the cycle of child poverty by providing ongoing educational support to Canada’s at-risk children throughout their school years, nurturing mind, body and social health so they are empowered to succeed and become role models for change. Our vision is to eradicate the effects of child poverty in Canada.

Project

The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted the non-profit sector in a number of ways. We are working towards gradually re-launching all of our programming back to what it was pre-pandemic. Our goal is to be able to reach more children in communities across the country. The largest challenge post-pandemic has been recruiting volunteers and fundraising. We recently launched an ambassador program to help us with our outreach initiatives.

We are hoping to find some creative ways to engage our ambassadors in outreach. What are some of the ways they can engage with their communities and spread the message about Start2Finish volunteer & fundraising opportunities? We are open to a variety of ideas, both in-person and social media campaigns.

Project Deliverables

  • A list of 10-20 ideas for ambassador outreach
  • An outreach plan for post-secondary ambassadors
  • A “best practices” guide for ambassadors

Helpful Skills

  • Communication & Teamwork
  • Marketing & Design
  • Innovation & Creativity
  • Problem Solving
  • Critical Thinking

Academic Areas

  • Management
  • English and Drama
  • Art and Visual Studies
  • Political Science
  • Psychology
  • Sociology
  • Language Studies
  • Communications and Technology

On Site

OrganizationThe Riverwood Conservancy

Riverwood is an oasis of woodlands, meadows, ravines, and gardens that spans 150 acres alongside the Credit River in Mississauga. The Riverwood Conservancy is a volunteer- and member-based charity that protects and restores Riverwood, and connects people of all ages, abilities, and cultures to the wonders of nature through conservation, education, gardening, and volunteering.

Project

As a public community space, we want to ensure the members of our community can easily navigate our area for the various ways in which individuals would engage with us. Part of engaging with us is through our on-site signage. Multiple sources, such as the City of Mississauga, The Riverwood Conservancy and the Province of Ontario, create on-site signage. The challenge is understanding our signage and how it impacts the participant experience. Is it effectively working together to ensure our community members can join us on-site and have a positive and informative experience?

We hope to complete a comprehensive audit and documentation of The Riverwood Conservancy’s onsite signage. That identifies the location of the signage, the signage owner, and what the signage is communicating. Is it effectively communicating that to the end user? If yes, why? If not, what recommendations could be made to communicate better?

Project Deliverables

  • Signage Audit
  • Report on effective signage & areas for improvement

Helpful Skills

  • Communication & Teamwork
  • Critical Thinking
  • Marketing & Design
  • Problem Solving
  • Innovation & Creativity

Academic Areas

  • Communications and Technology
  • Geography

Registration Information

Volunteer Applications are now open! Apply by Friday, February 2, 2024. Preference for project selection will be given to early applications.


Building Partnerships

We are always looking for new partners to present challenges and projects to our students for Alternative Reading Week. We invite schools, parents and families, local community organizations, and UTM community mentors and student groups to explore how we can work together. If you are interested in partnering with the Centre for Student Engagement on Alternative Reading Week Program, please fill out the Community Partner Interest Form


Become an ARW Community Leader  

Interested in volunteering for a Community Leader role for ARW? Consider registering for the Community Leadership Development Program, a full-year program focused on helping students develop skills in team building, facilitation, conflict resolution, leadership awareness and more!  

Learn more about this program!


Inquiries

For all questions and feedback regarding Alternative Reading Week, please contact:

Marlo Young-Sponga
Community Engaged Learning and Partnerships Coordinator