Volunteer Spotlight
“I volunteer at the Vancouver Maritime Museum because it is a fun work environment where I can challenge myself, meet new people and become a more experienced person.” –Uku
Uku was one of the first summer camp youth volunteer team members. We ran summer camps for the first time last year and, thanks to volunteers like Uku, they were a big success.
As a summer camp volunteer, Uku helped the camp staff by doing crafts with the kids and playing games with them. His job was to help create a fun and safe environment for the kids. Uku says he enjoyed interacting with camp participants.
To graduate high school, Uku needs to do 30 hours of volunteer work. When he was looking for volunteer opportunities online, the VMM summer camps looked the most interesting to him. He says the VMM may have appealed to him because he had visited the museum when he was a young child. “I have always thought it is so cool that the museum displays a real ship the was used for an expedition. Every time I have gone on the ship, I feel like I am being transported to a different place.”
Uku says he enjoys the collaborative and cooperative environment at the VMM. The volunteer work has be a great step toward becoming a member of the work force. The skills he gained as a summer camp volunteer are a great addition to his resume. Uku has thought about being a teacher or a coach. After working as a summer camp volunteer, he still thinks these jobs would be a good fit.
Uku says his philosophy for life is “to challenge myself by stepping out of my comfort zone to achieve personal growth.” For Uku, volunteering at the VMM was a challenge that pushed him out of his comfort zone. He says he was nervous at first, but he’s glad he did it. The staff helped make him feel comfortable and after he got over the initial nervousness, he enjoyed his time with the kids.
Uku has fulfilled his high school volunteer requirement, but he will be coming back to volunteer at camps again this year. We feel honoured that he wants to participate again, and we look forward to seeing him at the museum again.
To learn more about our summer camp youth volunteer team, visit our volunteer page.