Volunteering

Fiction Fans…
Writers-To-Be…
Budding Booksellers…

Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival is the place to volunteer. Be part of the Festival that everyone on the literary scene is talking about (in 15 languages!). Whether it’s at the registration desk, the box office, the bookstore or to escort our authors around the Festival, at Blue Met, you will discover what happens behind the scenes at a major literary event! Whether your interest is in children’s or adult literature, we have a place for you.

According to Statistics Canada, nearly half of all Canadians give generously of their time, energy and skills to special interest groups or organizations. The reason is simple: Volunteering pays!

Volunteering has several long-term positive effects, both on one’s physical and psychological health. In his 2001 book The Healing Power of Doing Good, Allan Luks enumerates the physical benefits: a longer life, a decrease in overall stress, prolonged functional abilities, lower blood sugar levels and higher pain tolerance among volunteers than among those who don’t do any volunteer work. Allan Luks uses the term “helper’s high” to describe the fact that volunteers produce more endorphins (the neurostimulant that causes a feeling of well-being), which is expressed in these individuals as higher self-esteem and a considerable decrease in feelings of isolation. This feeling of well-being that results from volunteering guarantees long-term protection against depression and anxiety. If this hasn’t convinced you, volunteering is also beneficial for your social life and your career. In fact, volunteering provides an opportunity, even for the introverts among us, to practice our social skills as part of an informal group of people with similar interests and as such create a wide network of contacts and friends. As a recent study by the Government of Alberta points out, this same network allows one to develop a number of career opportunities. Volunteering also promotes the acquisition of new skills and a greater work-family balance by allowing you to combine personal and professional interests.

You have all the reasons in the world to be a volunteer! We all devote several hours a week to our favourite TV series, all the while scolding ourselves: “If I only my time were better spent…” At Blue Metropolis Foundation, we’d like to suggest that you become a volunteer and share your love of literature with us during Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival. And run the risk of experiencing “helper’s high”!