Participating in meetings
The CCR organizes national Consultations every spring and fall, usually
in late November and late May. The Working Groups hold four meetings a year;
at the Consultations, and also in February (in Toronto, Ontario) and in September
(in Montreal, Quebec). Participants who attend these meetings will find there
are many opportunities to volunteer.
CCRlist
Those with access to email can receive messages of the CCRlist, where invitations
are regularly issued to people to involve themselves in CCR activities. For
example, in the fall of 2004, the CCR held a National Lobby Day, and sent
notices to the CCRlist regarding how people could be involved and find the
relevant lobbying materials.
Amina Malko Refugee Participation Fund
Recipients of the Fund have their expenses paid to attend three CCR meetings
in the year. (See Refugee Participation for a fuller description)
Core Groups
The three Core Groups meet mostly by conference call. Many people find this
a good way to get involved. Any positions to be filled in the Core Groups
are announced at Working Group meetings and via a notice sent to the CCRlist.
Core Group members must represent a CCR member organization.
Working Group Chairs
Co-chairs for the Working Groups are elected each November, with a call
for nominations on the CCRlist beforehand. For those who do not feel confident
or ready to take on such a role, the CCR may be able to provide support and
mentoring. The criteria to be elected Co-Chair are that candidates must
represent a CCR member organization and have attended at least one previous
Working Group meeting.
Executive Committee
The members of the Executive Committee are likewise elected each November,
while the call for nominations is announced on the CCRlist over summer. There
are usually more candidates than positions - those elected tend to be people
who have been seen to be active in the CCR. Candidates must represent a member
organization. The CCR works to ensure that Executive members reflect the
diversity of the membership, in terms of experience, expertise, interests
and geography.
Doing advocacy and public education on CCR issues
We always need people to advocate and educate on issues of concern to the
CCR - bringing our concerns to the media, politicians, potential allies,
the general public. If you want to organize something locally, you can likely
count on other CCR members in your region to join you. Many information tools
are available on our website. Please let us know if there are simple things
the CCR could do to give activists across the country more support.
Volunteering
You could offer to volunteer your services with a CCR member organization
in your area. To find out which ones are in your region, or to find out more
about volunteering opportunities with the CCR office in Montreal, contact
Catherine Balfour at ccr4@web.ca. See
Public education volunteer tasks for information
about some of the specific tasks for which we are seeking volunteers.