Meet Volunteer Justin Reuser!
Justin Reuser, a soft-spoken twenty-something volunteer at Place des Arts, seems perfectly suited to his dream job in early childhood education (ECE). Justin has been volunteering at Place des Arts for the past year, gaining valuable experience working with children so that he can build up his credentials to apply for a post-secondary ECE program.
Volunteering at Place des Arts
Justin started volunteering at Place des Arts in the spring of 2018. He says, “I looked for volunteer opportunities at places that I want to support. I checked out Place des Arts’ website and thought it’s really great what Place des Arts does.”
Justin’s first volunteer gig at the centre was for our April 2018 Family Day. He then volunteered at exhibition openings and became a regular classroom assistant in Dawn Livera’s Hello Art classes. Later, he volunteered for two weeks during last year’s Summer Fun! camp and has lately become our regular bar tender for exhibition openings and events.
Favourite volunteer experiences
Justin’s favourite volunteer experiences have been when he gets to work with kids, which seems natural given his career goals. He also volunteers at the BC Children’s Hospital thrift store and hopes to start volunteering regularly at child-care facilities so he can get more pre-requisite experience he requires to enter an ECE degree program.
Volunteering has many benefits
Justin loves volunteering and highly recommends it to others. He suggests that people look for volunteer opportunities with organizations that support the causes they are passionate about and believe in. He says that not only does volunteering help develop skills and meet people, but more importantly, it can build an emotional connection to an organization, much more so than simply donating money. On top of that, Justin says his volunteer experiences have been fun, rewarding and that he always feels appreciated.
How is Place des Arts like home to Justin?
According to Justin, it’s the people at Place des Arts that make him feel at home here. “It feels like a community,” he says. “Even the building itself feels cozy and like a home; but, of course, it’s mostly the people. I feel very welcomed and appreciated here, and that feels good.”
Thank you, Justin!
Justin has a real knack for making children feel welcome and included during classes and camps. His dedication to Place des Arts and his warm, gentle demeanor add immeasurably to our “home-like” environment. We can’t thank Justin enough for his contributions and wish him all the best as an early childhood educator!
Are you inspired to volunteer with us?
If Justin’s experience has inspired you to volunteer at Place des Arts, we’re currently accepting applications for our summer camps: Summer Fun! which runs for six weeks from July 2 – August 9, and ArtReach from August 12 – 16, our fully-subsidized camp for kids whose families face financial barriers to arts education.
Find out more and apply to volunteer at Place des Arts here.