Announcing PREB: A new tool for volunteer recognition

The Centre d’action bénévole de Québec has developed a comprehensive volunteer recognition program, called Programme de reconnaissance des expériences de bénévolat (PREB). PREB recognizes volunteers by formally acknowledging their contributions and providing a professional reference for their volunteer experience.

In 2012, Volunteer Canada and Investors Group will work in partnership with CABQ to adapt PREB to English, using the title Volunteer Experience Recognition Program (VERP). The English-language program will be pilot tested in 2013.

“Investors Group is proud to be a long-time supporter of Volunteer Canada and National Volunteer Week, and we are particularly excited about the implementation of Centre d’action bénévole de Québec’s Volunteer Experience Recognition Program (VERP) into the 2012 National Volunteer Week campaign,” said Richard Irish, Vice President of Area Marketing and Community Relations at Investors Group.

“Through VERP, Volunteer Canada and Investors Group are hoping to increase the recognition given to Canada’s volunteers by acknowledging and promoting their involvement, add another layer of credibility to their valuable volunteer work, enhance volunteer’s employability and volunteer commitment and provide accredited NPOs with practical human resources management tools to facilitate recruitment and performance evaluation.”

VERP allows volunteer managers to create a detailed certificate of achievement for individual volunteers. The certificate highlights specific skills the volunteer has developed and experience gained through volunteering. It also clearly lists the tasks and activities the volunteer was responsible for. In addition, VERP  provides training materials and online resources for volunteer managers.

The program serves a wide-ranging audience, including: youth volunteers, new Canadians, volunteers seeking employment, experienced volunteers, employers, voluntary organizations, and volunteer managers.

For more information about the program, visit the CABQ website.