Volunteering

Volunteers have a long history of supporting events and activities in Waterloo. Find current openings, recognition and volunteer resources below. 

Be You @ Waterloo

At the City of Waterloo, we are committed to recruiting a diverse volunteer team that represents the community we so proudly serve. All interested and qualified candidates, including Indigenous persons, Black persons, non-Black racialized persons or persons of colour, women, persons with disabilities, 2SLGBTQ+ and those interested in joining our team are encouraged to apply.

Current opportunities

Aquatics volunteer

Assist with aquatics instruction at the WMRC, under the supervision of aquatics staff. You must:

  • be age 14 or older with current Bronze Cross certificate
  • First Aid and CPR certified
  • must be comfortable in shallow and deep water
  • a competent deep end swimmer

This is a scheduled position for a set day and time, for a full session beginning in April 2023.

Apply now
Community dining server 

Assist with providing a nutritious meal to patrons in a social environment. Must be a friendly, empathetic adult with English language fluency.

One scheduled weekday per week from 11:45 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex, Community Pavilion. Able to follow instructions as part of a team in a fast paced environment.

Apply now

Outdoor ice rink volunteers

We're seeking responsible community-minded adults or teens age 16 or older as rink volunteers for your neighbourhood.
A minimum commitment of 2 hours per week (day, evening or weekend) is required. For a complete list of rink locations visit the outdoor rinks page.

Apply now

Program Volunteer, City of Waterloo Museum

Enrich the visitor experience through events, tours and presentations, sharing information and answering questions. Volunteers must enjoy:

  • interacting with others
  • have good communication skills
  • be comfortable with presenting to small and large groups

An ideal opportunity for those with a teaching background or studying for a career in history, museum studies, education or recreation. Location varies within Waterloo.
You will be working with staff and other volunteers. Shifts are various days and times.

Apply by April 14, 2023. Find information about the City of Waterloo Museum.

Apply now

Volunteer recognition

Each April we celebrate National Volunteer Week by sending a special thank you to thousands of dedicated volunteers who make a positive impact in the community. We recognize volunteer milestones by saluting community builder award recipients with an ad in the Waterloo Chronicle.

2022 Volunteer Salute
2022 Volunteer recipients
Two year category
Precious Adekoya Saisha Chebium Lauren Davies Jamie Doerr
Sarah Dunbar Leah Finlay Sierra Furtado Sasha Grichine
Claire Joseph Alanique Legault Mackenzie McIntosh Eric Millar
Julia Scheerer Hailey Terpstra Kayla Weppler Lily Wilberforce
Mariana Zhu      
Five year category
Stephen Ahlberg Nina Alberton  John Andric  Ally Arnold
Lisa Arnold Nelson Ashworth Haley Baxter Laura Beattie
David Bertrand Ron Bourque Joanne Boyer Lauren Burgess
Rijad Ciric Jennifer Clegg Oliver Conway-White Rigel Conway-White
Dan Costello James Craig Remo D'Angelo Tova Davidson
Mike Devereaux Trish Divell Paula Downey Justin Faulkner
Heidi Gaiser Krista Gawne Josh Gawne Connie Godwin
Lisa Haller Linda Hayes Rick Henderson Heidi Holmes
Andrew Karges Jennifer Kennedy Darryl Kraemer Colin Kropf
Sandra Labelle Mohammed Lamghari Heidi Langenberg Dave Lavigne
Charlene Lavigne Rhonda MacKinnon David Mactavish Marie Malcolm
Brian Martin Matthew McGahey Darlene McGeer Erick Melendez
Kristian Nielsen Jarrod Oliphant

Voula Petrou

Jody Prince

Travis Restoule

Beth Riley

Joanne Roberts

Helen Robertson

Bryan Robinson

Carolyn Ropp

Rob Sandelli

Laura Seaman

Mary Shaw

Leena Sheth

Phelan Simpson

Dilan Singaraja

Benita Sissing

  Jess Sloss  Jacob Stark  Amanda Stellings
 Bronwyn Stevens  Elvan Suzer  Adam Terrenzio  Matthew Thissen
 Chad Thompson  Duane Wadel  Natalie Wennyk  Zach Weston
 Shelley Whitman  Andrew Wiles  Karin Zmuda  
Ten year category
Dave Barnes Tania Baumann Torsten Baumann Marlene Bechtold
Steve Bedic Joanna Bielecka Brian Blamire Linda Blamire
Gord Cameron Anne Cameron Kenneth Campbell John Cooper
Ian Couper Luciana Da Silva Claudia Dauria Sandy Dierstein
Ann Eichorn William Gibbons Kent Gilbert Dennis Haid
Laurie Henderson Bill Henry Dave Hoffman Sonya Kubriel
Chris McClenaghan Annette Mcmurren Paul St. Pierre  
Fifteen year category
Jeff Dods Anne Gilchrist Susan Hallman Rhonda Hawkings
Mel Kitchen Phyllis Macneil Patrick Pavlik Brenda Stericker
Twenty year category
Greg Harling Kathy Pearson Cindy Watkin Mary Witmer

Many of our civic awards also speak to the spirit of volunteers in the community. 

Community Builder Awards

This award recognizes volunteers who provide ongoing service with the City of Waterloo and affiliate programs. 

Nomination forms are sent to eligible organizations in early January.

Recognition 

Recognition takes place through the organizations that volunteers support.

There are two types of pins, a standard Waterloo volunteer pin and milestone pin for service in increments of five years. A two year milestone pin is also available for persons age 25 and under.

The city recognizes all recipients in the Waterloo Chronicle during National Volunteer Week in April.

Organizations choose how to recognize recipients. It's typically done at board meetings, annual general meetings or volunteer recognition events. The city distributes pins to the organizations in March to coincide with National Volunteer Week.

Volunteer resources

  • Volunteer Waterloo Region has local volunteer postings from over 150 different organizations
  • Volunteer Canada provides tools and guidelines for those interested in volunteering or managing volunteers
  • PAVRO is the provincial resource for Volunteer Managers
  • VMPC is the national resource for Volunteer Managers.