Want to be a volunteer at The Rights Project?
Email info@therightsproject.ca
FAQs
What does The Rights Project do?
At The Rights Project, our goal is to empower and strengthen Black, Indigenous, and racialized communities through legal education. Our workshops will discuss a range of legal areas and issues, such as criminal law, human rights law, family, law, housing law, employment and work law, and more. Understanding what our rights are in different situations, and exercising those rights confidently is empowering. Our initiative is to reduce barriers between Black, Indigenous, and racialized communities, and knowledge of their rights and freedoms. Our communities are continually denied our rights, and as a result, told we are not deserving of justice. We aim to create spaces, which are accessible for all people, where we can foster environments of learning, and help educate each other.
Our vision for The Rights Project is to encourage our communities to advocate socially and politically for themselves, and to create solidarity across communities; we need to take a stand against these systems together. Through political and social advocacy, we hope to create space for our communities, to ensure our concerns and issues regarding the legal system are recognized. Knowing our rights will only take us so far, we also need to ensure our rights are respected.
Who can volunteer?
Our volunteer positions are open to anyone who is in secondary school and beyond. We would love to have a diverse group ranging in different ages, education levels, and professions. If you are currently in high school or older please consider applying.
What you should expect from us as a volunteer?
As a volunteer, you can expect an enriching experience where your voice will always be centered. Many of us have experienced volunteering experiences that have been highly exploitative and filled with stress. Volunteering with The Rights Project will not be that. We believe volunteers should be given leadership opportunities, opportunities to learn and grow, and that their opinions, ideas, concerns, and voices should be heard. We want to make this volunteer experience as enriching for you as possible. If there is something you would like to learn, if you would like leadership positions, or if you want to try a multitude of tasks to see where you best fit, we will not only encourage this but also take steps to make it possible. We take our roles as guiding and supporting volunteers very seriously and will do everything we can to ensure you have an enriching experience.
Are there specific skills, training, or credentials that I need to volunteer?
Anyone who chooses to apply to a volunteer position is not required to have any specific training or credentials, however, we hope that you choose to apply for a position that best matches your skillset and interests.
How can I get involved with The Rights Project’s mission?
The Rights Project is always looking for ways to expand our team through the addition of fellow passionate advocates who will support our efforts at building The Rights Project further, and contribute to making our vision of a more just world a reality. By applying to the volunteer positions that are currently open, you will be able to get directly involved with The Rights Project and our mission.
What are the benefits of volunteering with The Rights Project?
The Rights Project provides vital opportunities for the members of our team to gain transferable skills and participate in social action. As a volunteer with The Rights Project, you will get to take on a number of multidisciplinary roles. Even if you are hired for a specific team at The Rights Project, you are able to request to change your position if you feel that you would like to take on a new role. We do this because we want our team members to be able to find and do what genuinely feels meaningful to them. This could even mean that you join another team for a period of time simply to discover what your strengths are, or what you feel most passionate about. Whether it be processing invoices, developing promotional strategies, or planning events, The Rights Project will offer you experiences that are essential for professional growth and development.
As a volunteer, you will also have numerous opportunities to interact with legal professionals, advocacy initiatives, community activists, and social innovators. This will allow you the chance to learn from and network with several remarkable individuals who may be pursuing projects/careers that you are also interested in. You could also have the responsibility of seeking out and contacting these individuals and/or organizations for collaboration on different social justice initiatives, projects, or events that The Rights Project is working on. That being said, you will be able to practice forming and maintaining professional partnerships.
What is possibly most important though, is the fact that you become a part of the identity and mission of The Rights Project. Your voice is incredibly important to us. It is impossible for us to run an organization that aims to demand justice for our communities and eradicate barriers without the viewpoints of the individuals who genuinely make them up. As a member of our team, your experiences, insights, and ideas will be given the utmost value. We always want to hear from you! You will have creative autonomy and the ability to make your visions for positive social change a reality. Any ideas that you have for events, social activism, community fundraising, making legal information more accessible, etc. are welcomed. We will provide you with the support that you need to make these incredible ideas a reality. This also means that you will gain vital experience in community organizing that you will be able to take with you into your own lives. This organization does not exist nor meet the goals it hopes to without you. This organization is by the community, for the community.
How can I partner with The Rights Project?
The Rights Project is eager to partner with community members and organizations in order to better serve our communities. If you would like to partner or connect with us, please send us an email at info@therightsproject.ca.
What kind of workplace environment does The Rights Project commit to fostering?
The Rights Project is committed to fostering a welcoming and empowering environment. We take this commitment very seriously and will hold ourselves and all members accountable if they take actions to hinder this. We believe that a workplace environment should not only be welcoming and empowering to all people, but it should also be flexible in order to support the needs of all those who enter it. This flexibility extends to ensuring that no one is overworked or overwhelmed with tasks. No one should have to worry or stress about completing tasks or meeting deadlines. We will always be understanding and flexible. This is important to us because we understand that burnout and being overworked is an issue that many of us face, and we do not want The Rights Project to contribute to this.
At The Rights Project, we also highly value the importance of collaboration and creativity, which is reflected in our workplace environment. We believe the opinions, ideas, concerns, and voices of all members should be valued and upheld; and will take the necessary steps to ensure this. It is only in the process of being creative and collaborating with one another that we can imagine and create new futurities.
How involved do volunteers get to be in the overall operations and identity of The Rights Project?
As a volunteer, you would get to be fully involved in the identity and overall operations of The Rights Project. This organization could not exist or adequately be held accountable to its mission without you. Your voice is imperative to this organization; you have unique experiences as members of our communities that offer valuable insight into how we can collaboratively address structural inequities. We will always welcome ideas for projects, events, or feedback on ways to improve the overall structure of our organization from our volunteers. On every one of our four teams (Communications, Outreach, Administrative, and Program), you will be given creative autonomy and the opportunity to develop your ideas for social change further through the support and collaboration of your fellow team members.
Are background checks required for volunteer applications?
The Rights Project will not be conducting background checks for volunteers.