Together Project – Surrey

Together Project – Surrey

Welcome, connect, empower, belong

The Together Project connects newcomers and Canadians to build stronger, more welcoming communities. It matches groups of volunteers known as “welcome groups” with newly arrived government-assisted refugees and protected persons for meaningful settlement support.

Founded by MakeWay Charitable Society – Together Project in Ontario, DIVERSEcity is a program partner delivering the project in Surrey, BC.

How the project works

Over six months,volunteers will work to address specific priorities identified by their matched household, through which both newcomers and volunteers will also have an opportunity to get to know each other. We make our matches based on shared interests, newcomer needs, and volunteer experience and skills.

Common areas of support include:

• Practising conversational English language skills
• Navigating services, like health care
• Finding extracurricular activities for youth
• Socializing and learning about Canada

DIVERSEcity will provide training, guidance, and interpretation and translation assistance to help each Welcome Group.

Volunteers attend orientations to help them understand how refugee resettlement works, the unique challenges that refugee newcomers face, and the role volunteers can play in helping newcomers overcome those barriers. Furthermore, the orientation helps volunteers familiarize themselves with important concepts such as trauma-informed care, cultural humility and empowerment; concepts that are central to this project.

Join a Welcome Group

Interested in joining a volunteer Welcome Group?

Volunteers must be able to commit three to four hours per month for six months.

Your individual time commitment is flexible, as the responsibility is shared among Welcome Group members, who can divide up activities according to their availability and interests. We recommend a weekly interaction between Welcome Groups and matched newcomer families. These interactions can take place online or in-person, when possible.

Given the responsibility of working closely with a refugee newcomer household, we’re looking for applicants who are organized, sociable and committed to helping welcome newcomers to their community.

If you are interested, please register online at dcrs.ca/volunteer and select “Together Project” as your volunteer interest.