Volunteer

BUILDING CAPACITY IN OUR COMMUNITY

Thank you for your interest in volunteering with Calgary Outlink!

Volunteer applications are closed and will reopen in late Summer 2025.

If you're interested in volunteering with us and would like to be notified when they reopen, you're welcome to add yourself to our waitlist below!

Please see below for volunteer role descriptions. If you're on our mobile site, you may have to scroll down to the bottom to view any link buttons.

If you have any questions, please contact the Manager of Volunteers and Programming at zak@calgaryoutlink.ca.

Volunteer Waitlist Form

Group Facilitators

Facilitator volunteers run our Community Groups. Please see our Groups page for more information about the groups we offer.

If you're interested in being a group facilitator:

You are age 18+

You want to learn how to facilitate a group or want to build your facilitation skills

You want to contribute to supporting and holding space for 2SLGBTQ+ community members through conversation and/or activities

You can commit to volunteering with us from July-December 2025. Facilitation commitment will vary depending on which group you facilitate and how much group meeting preparation and planning is needed, approximately 2-5 hours per month. This includes, admin work, setup and takedown, and group meeting planning.

Have access to the internet and a device with a camera and audio **see note below

You are able to provide a police check with a vulnerable sector check if involved in our youth programming (we will cover the cost)

You can attend a mandatory 30 hour training with multiple sessions from April 29-May 31, 2025 (see below for info on training)

**Groups are currently held online and in-person

Support Line Volunteers

Since September 2022, Outlink has been piloting the You Matter: 2SLGBTQ+ Peer Support and Resource Line. You Matter is a non-crisis peer support line offering resources, information, and support to 2SLGBTQ+ community members in Calgary. Volunteers provide support through phone calls and text and chat conversations. This is a remote opportunity, so folks can volunteer right from home!

How it works:

Volunteers answer calls on their own phones and text and chat conversations through our software. Because calls and conversations come through our software, your phone number won't be given out to anyone!

The support line operates Monday-Thursday from 5-8pm and Saturdays from 1-5pm. Shifts are one hour long each. Volunteers are on-call for their shift and taking calls and responding to messages as needed. Debriefing is available either with Outlink staff or fellow volunteers if needed.

The commitment is 4 hours per month volunteering on the line itself in addition to approximately 1 hour of admin work (check-in forms, caller tickets, and scheduling shifts).

If you're not able to fulfill this requirement but would like to volunteer on the line, please contact Zak, the Manager of Volunteers and Programming, at zak@calgaryoutlink.ca. We'd still love to have you!

If you're interested in being a peer support line volunteer:

You are age 18+

You're a friendly human who wants to connect with, support, and hold space for fellow community members of various identities and backgrounds

You're comfortable supporting folks with various issues (you will receive training on these)

You're comfortable supporting someone through talking on the phone and typing or want to work towards being more comfortable

You have consistent access to a phone, internet, and a device with a browser

You can commit to volunteering with us from July-December 2025

You can attend a mandatory 30 hour training with multiple sessions from April 29-May 31, 2025 (see below for info on training)

Peer Mentors

To find out more about our Mentorship Program, please click here.

If you are interested in being a mentor:

You’re age 25+

You can be a mentor from August-December 2025 - if not matched this time you have the option of volunteering in another role at Outlink and/or wait for the next round.

Your commitment will vary depending on how much time is spent with your mentee and how much preparation and planning is needed. Approximately 0.5-1 hour of admin work (check-in forms, communication with Outlink staff, etc), will be required per month.

You want to have a positive impact on someone’s life

You feel that you have good communication skills or are working at it

You consider yourself to be friendly and approachable

You’re willing to provide a police check with vulnerable sector search if mentoring a minor (we will cover the cost)

You will adhere to any public health and safety protocols in place through Outlink

You can attend a mandatory 30 hour training with multiple sessions from April 29-May 31, 2025 (see below for info on training)

While we are seeking mentors of all diverse identities and backgrounds, we are looking for more applicants of the following (based on prior and current need):

Trans and non-binary folks who are open to sharing insight into identity, transitioning, and coming out

Gay/bi/pan/queer men who have experience with navigating identity and community

Folks who have navigated immigrating to Canada

Folks who are Black, Indigenous, and/or people of colour

Volunteer Training Info

Sessions will be held on most Tuesday evenings and Saturdays OR Sundays during the day from April 29-May 31, 2025. Weekday sessions will be online, and weekends will be in-person.

Weeknight sessions will be 2-2.5 hours, and weekends will be 2.5-3 hours each. We will usually have two sessions on weekends, so we will be together for the day.

While training sessions are mandatory, we recognize that things may come up that are out of your control. If you miss two sessions, we will follow up with you, and you may be asked to re-evaluate your ability to commit to our volunteer program. Missing more than two sessions may result in you being asked to no longer participate in this round of our training program.

Onboarding processes will take place in June, after training. The mentorship pairing process will take place in July.

If you have any questions about our volunteer program, please contact zak@calgaryoutlink.ca.

Board of Directors

Calgary Outlink is looking for individuals to join our dynamic and skilled Board of Directors to engage in meaningful work to make Calgary a better place for 2SLGBTQIA+ people to live. We are looking for passionate community members who can contribute to the leadership and growth of our organisation in a fun and collaborative environment.

What we’re looking for

Passion for 2SLGBTQIA+ advocacy and community support
A commitment to learning and growing in an anti-oppression, anti-racism, and anti-discrimination framework
A desire to make a tangible difference in Calgary’s 2SLGBTQIA+ community

Key details

Term: 1 year (elected annually at AGM)
Time Commitment: Approx. 5 hours/month
Responsibilities: Governance, strategic planning, financial oversight, and community representation
Qualifications: Lived experience or strong knowledge of 2SLGBTQIA+ community issues, and a willingness to contribute to positive change. Previous Board Member experience and knowledge of consensus-based decision making is highly preferred, but not required.

We encourage diverse applicants and value experience in areas such as finance, human resources, non-profit governance, fundraising, and legal expertise.

If you are interested in applying, please submit an application here!

Applications are open until March 2nd at 11:59 PM MST!

For more information, please email: board@calgaryoutlink.ca