Community engagement with the 2015 Canada Winter Games: development of a strategic volunteer engagement plan

The 2015 Canada Winter Games is challenged with positioning over 4,500 volunteers in key roles to deliver a successful multi-sporting event. This project provides an examination of volunteer trends in Canada, British Columbia and British Columbia's northern region with a focus on the volunteer, volunteerism and volunteer engagement. This study explores who the volunteer is, their values and motivators, volunteer management, and the socio-economic impacts of volunteerism in determining the value of volunteering within the community. Literature and survey findings suggest that volunteerism is evolving seeing the volunteer and the organization working more as collaborative partners. Additionally, for successful recruitment and retention of volunteers, organizations need to consider their volunteer management practices. Based on literature and survey findings, recommendations are provided to assist the 2015 Canada Winter Games Society in developing strategic volunteer engagement plan. --Leaf i.