Back in February of this year, I accepted the volunteer role of treasurer for the Welcome Centre Shelter for Women. I thought this would be an awesome opportunity to showcase my accounting skill set with a great local charity.

So far it has been everything that I was hoping for and more. As treasurer, I have signing authority for the charity. This means that I review cheques as they come to me before I sign to ensure everything looks good. As well, I review our bookkeeper’s financial statements and present them to our directors for discussion and approval at our board meetings.

I was previously the first treasurer with the Windsor-Essex Red Shoe Society for about a year and a half. This position was a little unique as it mainly consisted of budgeting for their events. I was expecting it to be more like a traditional set-up like the Welcome Centre. As well, I was helping out at events and dinner programs at Ronald McDonald House. I met some great people through this organization where I still have relationships with them today. However, this position was not what I had expected it to be so I moved on.

Another not-for-profit organization that I have been involved with is the Western Ontario Five Pin Bowlers’ Association. I was a director for 10 years primarily serving as their tournament director. This role included budgeting for tournaments and setting participant fees. I also loved the reporting of results on spreadsheets at the tournaments. With two young children, politics and travelling requirements made things difficult for me to deliver in this position effectively, which ultimately lead to my resignation this past May. It was a hard decision, but very necessary to keep my sanity.

During my high school and early university days I was a board member of the Harrow Youth Centre now the Harrow Youth and Family Resource Network. I was a director and it helped me get my feet wet with accounting in not-for-profit organizations. I would sit down with the treasurer and go over transactions and financial statements once in a while. I also assisted behind the counter collecting money for snack bar purchases. One initiative we did every year was assisting with the parking at the Harrow Fair. This was a great way to promote the centre during the community’s largest event of the year.

What types of volunteering do you do to give back to the community?

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