Our New Volunteer Coordinator  –

(Carmen Ma recently joined the Hastings Sunrise CPC staff. We asked her to introduce herself – so she chose to talk to her future self! We hope you enjoy her insights.)

Hi Carmen, it’s me, you.

I don’t know how old you are when you’re reading this letter, but I hope you are still learning lots, fostering meaningful relationships, giving back to the community, and are as happy as I am now, maybe even more! I recently started a cool, new job as Volunteer and Program Coordinator at the Hastings Sunrise Community Policing Centre. Do you remember how we landed this job? We didn’t believe in fate before, but after this, we do now.

Back in December 2024, a friend had sent you a job posting because she thought of you the moment she read the job description. They were looking for someone to recruit, manage and support volunteers. She knew you’d be perfect for the job because you’ve dedicated most of your life to volunteering.

But you weren’t ready at the time to pursue a part time role, so you didn’t apply. You kept applying to jobs that you had no interest in and jobs that didn’t align with your core values, and jobs that were traditionally “safe” jobs.

After a few more weeks of soul searching and chatting with wise friends, they made you realize that you will wander aimlessly if you don’t decide on a purpose and an intention. The universe will not give you what you want. That’s when you took another look at the job posting and finally decided to apply.

It’s now been almost two months since your first day at HSCPC and you are still learning something new every single day. You’re learning about how a non-profit organization works. You’re learning about how much work it is to organize a community event. You’re learning to better understand and support volunteers. You’re learning to share a tiny fridge with everyone in the office. You’re learning about the dedication and gratitude long-time volunteers have for Clair and the rest of the team at HSCPC. You’re learning about what community means and how important it is to create space for people to find their sense of belonging.

You have always loved to connect with others, learn about their past, enjoy their present and leave a positive impact on their futures. Being part of HSCPC is allowing you to do just that. You are constantly surrounded by people who want to contribute their free time to clean up the neighbourhood, or to observe driving speeds to keep the roads safe, or to spend an afternoon hanging out with seniors. You are surrounded by good people who want to do good work. You are now a piece of the puzzle that can make that happen in the Hastings Sunrise neighbourhood.

Wherever you are now, I hope you are still doing good work and still surrounded by others who want to do the same! I hope you never stop making meaningful connections with everyone around you. Most importantly…don’t forget to enjoy the moment and just have fun! Whatever is meant to be, will be. Everything will always work out in the end.