Next week we’ll take a break from printing a paper, and we’re moving the weekly Uniter party over to uniter.ca for an online-only issue. We have a really neat lineup of pieces in the works, all with a slightly different take on Uniter formats but with the same local focus. It’s been a lot of fun coming up with ideas for online-specific pieces with our staff and volunteers.

If you look down below this piece, there’s a little box that says “Contributors.” Those are the writers, photographers and illustrators who submitted their work to The Uniter this week, and this just wouldn’t be the same paper without them. 

Because we’re a learning paper, our volunteer opportunities are open-ended. Contributors can pick up as much or as little work as they like – once a year, once a month, once a week, however much they want to do. And we try to also keep volunteering as open as possible, meaning that anyone who wants to learn can get involved, on campus or off.

There’s one key position involved here that holds it all together, and that’s the volunteer coordinator. The coordinator is the first point of contact for new volunteers. They run weekly orientations, and take care of the basic paperwork. At the moment, we’re hiring for this position, as our past volunteer coordinator, Alana Trachenko, is putting on the soon-to-be-renamed News Editor hat (more on that in the Oct. 20 issue). 

You can read more about the volunteer coordinator position on Page 18 or online at uniter.ca/jobs. It’s a great opportunity for anyone who wants to work with volunteers in the future, who loves learning and who is passionate about peer mentoring. 

In the meantime, if you’re interested in volunteering, don’t hesitate to pop into an orientation. Even while we’re hiring a coordinator, orientations will still be held every Wednesday from 12:30 to 1:30 in The Uniter office, ORM14, and I’ll be pinch-hitting as your interim coordinator. So come on down and say hi!

Published in Volume 71, Number 5 of The Uniter (October 6, 2016)