Welcome to vantage point online

At Volunteer Vancouver, our mission is to inspire & build leadership in the voluntary sector

One of the ways we do this is through Vantage Point — our issue-based newsletter. This edition draws on the leadership experience and expertise of Ratna Omidvar, Executive Director of the Maytree Foundation, Brian Zeiner, a trainer in leadership development, and Miranda Lam, Past Chair of Volunteer Vancouver. Your comments are welcome — please email Maria Williams at mwilliams@volunteervancouver.ca

Leading Tomorrow’s Diverse
Canada, Today

By Ratna Omidvar

The “Changing Face of Canada” — the growing diversity of our cities
and communities — is garnering a lot of attention these days.

And it isn’t hard to understand why. Canada is undergoing rapid
demographic change. Each year, we welcome between 225,000
and 250,000 newcomers from all corners of the globe – with the
highest proportion coming from China and India. Demographers are
predicting that by 2011, immigration will account for all labour force
growth, and by 2026 for all population growth.
Read the full article here>

An Open Letter to Board Chairs: Packing the Right Toolbox

By Miranda Lam
Past Chair of Volunteer Vancouver

Since my term as Chair of the Board at Volunteer Vancouver ended
some months ago, I have been asked on a few occasions what
lessons in leadership I have learned along the way to share with other board chairs, and I must admit that I have struggled to respond.
Read the full article here>

“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead
where there is no path and leave a trail.” — Emerson

Inspired Leadership: Lessons
Learned from the Great Antarctic
Explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton

By Brian Zeiner

Men wanted for Hazardous Journey
Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success.

The most successful ad ever written attributed to the Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton circa 1913 for recruiting people to join his expedition to be the first to walk across the South Pole. Would you apply? Almost 5,000 did.
Read the full article here>

“Pity the leader caught between unloving critics and uncritical lovers.”
— John Gardner

Leading Leaders

By Colleen Kelly

As we determined the subject for this issue of Vantage Point at
Volunteer Vancouver, it was interesting for me to reflect upon the
changes in leadership on our own Board of Directors as we have
moved into the first decade of this millennium.
Read the full article here>

About Volunteer Vancouver

As the mission of Volunteer Vancouver is to inspire
& build leadership in the voluntary sector, this publication is intended to be a medium of communication and information for the many organizations active in the volunteer and not-forprofit sector. The opinions expressed herein are solely those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect official policy of the Board of Directors of Volunteer Vancouver. E-Subscriptions are free.

Volunteer Vancouver
301 - 3102 Main Street Vancouver, BC
V5T 3G7 Canada
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www.volunteervancouver.ca

A United Way Member Organization and funded in part by the City of Vancouver.