| Our Chapter, in fact all of AFP relies heavily on Volunteers. We serve to serve each other and to advance our profession. We are fortunate to live in a city that places a high value on Volunteers and Philanthropy. To highlight those who give of their time and talent, we offer this section of our Pipeline Profiles – Volunteers: |
Volunteer Profile:
John Dumonceaux, CFRE
| This month we feature John Dumonceaux, CFRE. John happens to fit into our Movers and Shakers column, having recently joined the amazing team at Hull Services, as their Major Gifts Officer. You may remember John as the host of our AFP Webinars when they were hosted at SAIT Polytechnic. Here’s what we learned when we zoomed-in and chatted with him: 1. John, please describe your current volunteer positions and when you started? I started my volunteering about 33 years ago as part of the Calgary Police Service on a special projects team that would lead to the CrimeStoppers program. That’s quite a while ago – we used a rotary dial phone and took all our notes on paper, no computers! Not long after that – about 32 years ago, I started volunteering with the Calgary Stampede. I work with the Parade Committee, and started as a Street Marshall. For the past 10 years I have been on the Parade Committee and now serve as the Chair of Parade Entries. I also help with the Mother’s Day / Father’s Day Road Race and have been a part of that event for 23 years. This past July, I joined the AFP Calgary & Area Board as the Secretary. 2. Do you volunteer with a goal in mind or a set of expectations for the position? Not really. I usually volunteer, like most people, because someone asked me. Other times it’s something I want to do. I am not thinking about what I get out of it, of course that’s a natural by-product because you always get something out of it. More often it’s about how I can help others. With the AFP position, it’s about listening to everything and transcribing the board activity and actions for future knowledge. 3. What are three reasons you would give someone to consider volunteering? 1. The feeling of self-worth, accomplishing something for the community 2. I volunteer with my wife Joy, for the Road Race, it’s nice to do things together with your partner/spouse 3. Help causes that are looking for help 4. How do you find the time? You have to be careful because it can take over your life, so you have to work at finding the right balance between volunteering, work and home. That’s why I enjoy the Road Race because Joy and I volunteer together. The Stampede Parade is my largest commitment, as you would imagine. 5. There is anecdotal evidence that volunteering has a positive impact on one’s health. Have you noticed any health benefits? I suppose so. When you’re volunteering you feel a sense of happiness and feeling good – that’s great for your mental and physical well-being. Sometimes it can be difficult; for example it’s easy to eat not-healthy food when you’re working at the Stampede but you just have to watch yourself. There are challenges of course, especially with COVID. It has been a tough year. It’s hard to get people motivated and excited when events get cancelled. Hopefully the light is getting brighter at the end of that tunnel. 6. How Lessons learned? Be careful not to spread yourself too thin; that can lessen the personal goodwill and it can become taxing and less enjoyable. I would say my most inspiring position with AFP has been as the Volunteer Chair with the Generosity of Spirit ™Awards. It has been a wonderful opportunity to see some of Calgary’s leading philanthropists on stage, and to hear their stories and be inspired by their commitment. |
| AFP Calgary & Area Chapter is always on the lookout for volunteers – to support our events, to be mentors for newer members, and to work on conferences and National Philanthropy Day activities. Please consider volunteering with your chapter and contact our Chapter Administrator, Kara Tersen, CFRE at [email protected] for more details or complete our online Volunteer Interest Form. We’d be delighted to hear from you! |
Volunteer Profile – John Dumonceaux, CFRE