Working with volunteers

Working with volunteers and organized community groups that offer to help with one or more citizenship ceremonies can be quite effective. Volunteers and volunteer groups usually bring great enthusiasm to their task.

On this page

• Orientation and certificates
• Benefits of volunteers
• Role, responsibilities and duties
• For more information

Orientation and certificates

Those who volunteer to help with citizenship ceremonies will need an orientation session so that they can understand the reasons, format and restrictions for citizenship ceremonies, as well as their role in citizenship ceremonies.

Citizenship staff can recognize and thank volunteers for their service at a citizenship ceremony by presenting them with a volunteer certificate. Staff can distribute these certificates as they see fit; no National Headquarters (NHQ) approval is required to present a volunteer certificate.

Benefits of volunteers

Volunteers at citizenship ceremonies

• offer a range of contacts within the community;
• are in touch with the community’s views and needs;
• allow paid staff to expand existing services or launch new services;
• can enable paid staff to perform tasks closer to their qualifications and expertise;
• can provide wider public support for citizenship and for citizenship ceremonies by informally promoting the value of citizenship to family, friends and other members of the community.

Role, responsibilities and duties

Volunteers can assist in citizenship ceremonies before, during or after the ceremony. Their responsibilities may vary from one office to the next.

General duties

Volunteer general duties may include

• providing a welcoming environment for the new Canadian citizens;
• greeting candidates and guests;
• directing candidates to the registration area and then to their assigned seats;
• hanging up jackets or coats;
• distributing pins or flags to candidates;
• directing guests to their seats;
• providing crowd control;
• directing candidates and guests to the washroom;
• escorting parents with restless children out of the ceremony room;
• assisting with the reception, if applicable;
• assisting with clean-up.

For more information

• Delegations and approvals needed for a citizenship ceremony
• Volunteer guidelines for citizenship ceremonies (specific description of duties and responsibilities)
• Orientation sessions and rehearsals for citizenship ceremonies