This December newsletter marks the end of WWOOF Canada’s first year as a non-profit. Last February, WWOOF went through one of the biggest changes in its history. The organization transitioned from a social enterprise to a non-profit organization; appointed a Board of Directors made up of WWOOFers and hosts; said farewell to Becky Young, WWOOF’s long-time Executive Director.
So, how has this first year been going?
Robin Young as the new Executive Director and Catherine Dallaire as the new Membership and Communications Coordinator have taken on the responsibility of managing the organization day-to-day. Robin came to the role with four years of experience as WWOOF Canada’s Coordinator, as well as many years as a WWOOFer and host before that. While Catherine was newer to the organization, her bilingual communication skills, experience in agroecology, and years as a WWOOFer meant she adapted quickly to the challenges.
The other half of the new WWOOF Canada team, WWOOF Canada’s new Board, also quickly became important contributors, working with Robin and Catherine to set the course for the organization moving forward. We are proud to say that the Board members represent all regions and elements of the WWOOF Canada community. They includes three active hosts and two former WWOOFers from British Columbia, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and Ontario. As a side note, we are planning on sharing the bios of the members of the Board in the coming months.
What about the WWOOFers and hosts themselves? WWOOF Canada enjoyed its second full-year with no pandemic restrictions and, as such, welcomed over 3800 WWOOFers to to our organization. As is usual for our community, about 40% hailed from Canada, while another 35% came from France and Germany. WWOOF Canada also maintained a strong host community, with over 650 hosts from across the country. About 40% of those hosts are based in British Columbia, while 22% came from Quebec and another 13% from Ontario.
What was the staff team working on this year? Well, there was a big focus on trying to build community by being more intentional about who we attract as members and by providing more support and resources to those who already are. For WWOOFers, that mostly meant education. We’ve created a WWOOFer Welcome package that provides a variety of resources to new WWOOFers so that they know what to expect and how to get the most out of their experience.
For hosts, that meant building on our comprehensive host-approval and onboarding process, involving a profile review, host interview, host welcome package, and more. This process allows us to filter out the bad-fit hosts and support the good-fit hosts so that they will have the best experience possible.
It also includes this newsletter, which will seek to act as a valuable and interesting source of news and updates on what our organization and community are up to. You’re all a part of this thing, and we want to keep you all informed.
We are proud of what has been accomplished this year and look forward to the opportunities ahead.
Happy Holidays and all the best,
Robin
Executive Director
WWOOF Canada