Staff volunteer interview: Katie McCourt

A lot of CHIMP employees don’t just think about charitable giving at work, they volunteer their time to causes they care about outside of the office too. This month we spoke to Katie on the Marketing team – she only moved here from the UK, (via New Zealand) four months ago, and she’s already dedicating her time once a week to Vancouver’s vulnerable youth community.

Hi there Katie –  can you describe yourself in one sentence?

Urm… This is really hard! I’m English and I really do like to drink a lot of tea?

What do you do here at CHIMP?

I work in the marketing team as a Digital Content Specialist – I write blog posts, manage CHIMP’s social media accounts and work on other marketing content outputs.

You’ve recently started volunteering in Vancouver, can you tell us why you decided to start helping out the local community?

I wanted to feel like I was helping and giving back to the community in some way – I believe that if everyone gives a little bit of their time back to help others, it can go a long way to making a difference 🙂

Can you describe your volunteer experience, so far? How is it all going? What do you do, and who do you interact with?

I volunteer with a youth service charity – specifically providing a meal service to at risk youths. We work in a small team to cook a hot, nutritious meal for young people in need.

Why do you think it’s important to give your time to charity?

I think it can give you a more rounded view of life, and help you realize what’s really important to you.

What cause matters most to you, and why?

Probably children and young people – I think it’s really sad to see children and young people that don’t have a support network around them. Everyone deserves an equal start to life, and I think looking out for young people is a great way to ensure a better world in the future.

How does donating your time and/or money to Charity make you feel?

It’s great to feel that you are doing something positive, and hopefully having a positive impact to the lives of others.

If you had one piece of advice to someone getting involved with charity for the first time, what would it be?

Just do it! It’s easy to make up excuses, and feel like you don’t have the time – it’s a great thing to make time for, and you’ll probably really enjoy it. 

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Thanks so much for chatting to us, Katie. Feel inspired? Take a look at these charities tackling food insecurity in Canada. 

If you would like to talk to CHIMP about your volunteering efforts, we would love to hear from you! Get in touch at [email protected].