Volunteer!
Volunteering with the HCA is a great way to get to know your neighbours, understand and affect change in our neighbourhood. We work hard and we have fun too!
The HCA supports our neighbourhood on a wide variety of topics. All this work is done by a great group of volunteers – we love having new people join us in our work!
Your role could be as small as helping with set up and taken down at a community event or delivering flyers on your street once a year. However, if you’d like to get more involved, you could work on a specific issue with one of our sub-committees and/or join our Board of Directors.
If you’re interested in learning more about what’s involved in volunteering, fill out this VERY BRIEF FORM and one of our Board members will contact you to talk about your interests.
Are you under 18 and want to volunteer with the HCA?
The HCA has a history of youth volunteering with our organization and we believe that youth volunteers can contribute significantly to the community. We also recognize that local volunteer opportunities are important for youth and we want to support youth in developing a sense of belonging and agency in their own neighbourhood.
Youth are welcome and encouraged to volunteer with the HCA under the following parameters:
- Anyone aged 10-17 must self-identify as youth when they reach out to volunteer and they must provide contact information for a parent/guardian. (Youth under 10 cannot volunteer with the HCA.) Once the HCA receives a request from a youth to volunteer, we will follow up with the youth and their parent/guardian.
- Before the youth can volunteer with the HCA, their parent/guardian must fill out a one-time electronic permission form which will be filed in HCA’s electronic records. The form is only accessible to the HCA president, vice-president, and volunteer coordinator. One of these individuals will follow up with the parent/guardian contact once the form has been received.
- Whether for ongoing volunteering (e.g., committees; ongoing projects) or one-day events, the parent/guardian of volunteers age 10-15 must identify either themselves or another named adult(s) who will supervise their child at all times while they volunteer. It is the responsibility of the parent/guardian to ensure that the supervision is occurring.
- Youth aged 16-17 are allowed to volunteer for the HCA without a parent-identified supervisor and in some cases, the youth may volunteer for the HCA without ongoing supervision (e.g., working on their own to pull together research on a local history project; manning a station at a public event). However, as per the “two deep principle”, adult HCA volunteers may not work with youth volunteers one-on-one unless it is in a public space with clear visibility.
- Beginning at age 18, individuals living in Hintonburg can be elected onto the HCA Board of Directors. Younger volunteers are permitted to attend Board meetings and are welcome to be members of HCA committees.
- Recognizing that many youth take on responsibility for their own communication, HCA Board/Committee members can be in contact with youth directly via email/text for planning purposes. However, the HCA Board/Committee member will always include the parent/guardian’s email/number on all communication. If phone calls are required, they will be made to the parent/guardian’s phone number.
- For HCA events, youth should be informed of the HCA volunteer in charge and how to reach them if the youth has any concerns or questions.
- As of 2026, there are new City of Ottawa’s rules for anyone volunteering with designated special events. HCA’s designated special events are Artspark, Hintonburg 5K run, and our ball hockey tournament. If youth are interested in volunteering for those, we will follow up regarding the additional City rules.
