MOVE Spin-a-thon and Fall Forum

Overview

Volunteer Hamilton sets the standard for engaging the community in volunteerism. Through leadership, education and advocacy, we promote and link organizations, businesses, and individuals to embrace volunteerism.

In November 2011, with the support of the Ontario Trillium Foundation, Volunteer Hamilton launched its Centre for Community Engagement. Now we’re planning our inaugural community engagement event called MOVE.   This MOVE Fall Forum is the start of a community conversation between our City’s post-secondary students, faculty and staff; Volunteer Hamilton’s 200 member agencies and the community at large. Our hope is that together we’ll discover how to leverage the gifts and skills of our post-secondary students in a way that builds our community and enhances the educational experience of those students. We’re undertaking a collective approach to designing this forum and students will be in the forefront as they design, facilitate and provide recommendations for next steps.

The VH MOVE imitative consists of two parts. The first is a fun-raiser/fundraiser spin-a-thon at a local gym.  The funds generated through the spin-a-thon will support the ongoing work of VH related to the possibilities and practicalities of the “Community Engaged Education” movement.

Community Engaged Education: describes the collaboration between institutions of higher education and their community for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity.

We anticipate that the spin-a-thon will be supported by Community leaders, member agencies, Bay Area Leadership Alumni and the faculty, staff and students of Mohawk College and McMaster University.  Each “spin-cycle” lasts one hour and may be completed by a single individual or by a team that shares increments of 15 minutes each.

Volunteer Hamilton has engaged students, staff and faculty in the design, delivery and data analysis of this one-day forum.  The goal of this forum is to have students create recommendations and next steps that VH will champion throughout the year. Students from Mohawk College and McMaster University will have an added opportunity through completion of a special student assignment.

Over the coming weeks the dates and venues for the spin-a-thons and the forum will be finalized. The tentative agenda is as follows:

Tentative Agenda

7:45     Registration

8:00     Breakfast

8:45     Welcome and Opening Remarks

9:00     Collective Leadership Panel

10:00   Break

10:15   Idea Exchange

12:00   Leadership Lunch

1:00     Ideas into Action Workshop

2:00     Wrap up and Next Steps