Search Volunteer Opportunities

Our day camp is called "Mini Camp" and occurs from 10:00 am - 2:00 pm on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays in July and August 2024. The goal of this camp is for children 6-11 years old to play games while practicing their french speaking skills. For most children in our community, French is their third language, but they have to go to a French elementary school. Therefore, Mini Camp is their opportunity to practice French in a social context, through different activities. These activities include: team sports, playing outside, doing art workshops, going to the museum, doing cooking workshops, gardening, etc. As a volunteer, your job would never be to organise an activity but rather to support the animator and to speak to the children in French.

Tutor adults with literacy challenges

Volunteers would assist with any/all aspects of our Food Security Program.

Native Friendship Centre of Montreal’s (NFCM) Food Security Program (FSP) serves two purposes for community development. Firstly, the program provides Montreal’s unhoused community with nutritious breakfasts and lunches within our Day Centre. Additionally, the program provides food for the Centre’s monthly dinners and weekly cultural nights.

The second objective of the FSP is to ensure access to healthy food baskets and frozen meals to low-income individuals and families who are precariously housed, to ensure that their dietary needs are met. The typical client profile is Indigenous families, Elders and individuals who are currently facing food insecurity in Montreal, however we do serve non-Indigenous persons as well. Additionally, we provide frozen meals to Indigenous students at Lasalle College in Downtown Montreal. NFCM is working closely with the Montreal Indigenous Community NETWORK, Moisson Montréal, Santropol Roulant and other partner organizations to offer this service.

NFCM is currently initiating an Urban Agriculture project as part of the expansion of our Food Security programming. The rooftop food garden, located at 2001 Boul. Saint Laurent in Montreal, will serve two purposes. Firstly, the project will provide the program with fresh produce, which will be added to the daily meals in the Day Centre as well as the food baskets for community members. The second purpose of the project is to create culturally relevant educational activities for our community members, including traditional medicine workshops and agronomy classes. The rooftop garden will be built during the Spring of 2023 and will be in use by Summer of 2023. Once building is completed, the garden will be used in perpetuity to support the Food Security Program at Native Friendship Centre of Montreal.

KEY STATISTICS FROM 2022:

- Approximately 1,750 individuals benefit from the support offered by NFCM per year

- Approximately 10,775 breakfasts served per year (Mon-Fri)

- Approximately 21,550 hot meals served per year (Mon-Fri)

- Approximately 1,250 individuals will benefit from traditional foods per year

- Approximately 1,200 individuals will served during our monthly Community Feasts per year

- 1,200 frozen meals served to Indigenous students at Lasalle College per year

- 4,400 Lunch bags for street patrol per year

- Approximately 2,500 Food Baskets distributed per year

- Approximately 500 unique households receiving food baskets per year

A volunteer can provide a room visit to:
-help stimulate brain activity through conversations, reading, short board games/cards
-reduce patient's feelings of isolation with regular weekly visits weekends or weekdays
-brighten a person's day with positive interactions
-allow patients to express positive and negative feelings during rehabilitation