Volunteer Sudbury to match newcomers with locals at 'speed meeting' event

Volunteer Sudbury is looking to play matchmaker by helping newcomers make connections in the community.

The organization is working with the Local Immigration Partnership to host a "speed meeting" event on March 23.

Kiara Vallier, the program coordinator with Volunteer Sudbury, said the Meet and Match event will be a lot like speed dating.

"It's really essentially five minutes with one person and then you move on to the next person and the next person," she explained.

Participants will have the option to use set questions to ask each other about themselves and start the conversation.

There will also be a follow up event to help maintain any new connections or friendships.

"We're trying to get over that initial hump of 'hello' than can sometimes be awkward," Vallier said.

"And then from there hopefully people come away from it with new friends that they can call upon and locals in Sudbury that they can call for questions, or for a coffee or something."

Newcomers gain 'sense of pride' from volunteering

The Meet and Match is just one initiative through the Building Blocks Volunteer Program, which is funded through the provincial Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration.

Vallier said Volunteer Sudbury and the Local Immigration Partnership have developed a multi-cultural training module for local non-profits.

The module is being facilitated by Scott Fisher, the program manager for Professions North.

"He's helping identify some of the barriers that newcomers might face when they're coming to Sudbury in general and how that pertains to volunteerism," Vallier said

Both initiatives aim to get newcomers more involved in the community by making new friends and finding volunteer opportunities.

"There's a really big sense of pride in contributing to community, and I think the more you give back to the community, the more it feels like yours."