How Boyle Street Volunteers Build Community in Edmonton

At Boyle Street Community Services, volunteering builds relationships through shared commitments to a more compassionate, connected, and inclusive community. While our programs serve some of Edmonton’s most vulnerable populations, the work of creating a community where everyone belongs is not done by staff alone. Volunteers are important to our work.

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Each person who gives their time and energy to Boyle Street brings their own story and perspective. Whether they’re serving coffee, helping prepare meals, distributing care packages, or supporting our fundraising efforts behind the scenes, volunteers help make our spaces more human and more hopeful.

To mark National Volunteer Week, we’re highlighting four individuals who remind us of what volunteering at Boyle Street is all about.

Peter

Peter began volunteering with Boyle Street in 2023 while pursuing his master’s degree. He’s supported several programs, including Housing First, MAP (Managed Alcohol Program), and our drop-in centres - and with each new space, he’s brought openness and care.

His experiences are wide-ranging: from helping a community member build a resume and prepare for job interviews, to teaching someone how to cook basic meals. But what Peter reflects on most is how much he’s learned about trust, choice, and meeting people where they’re at.

“What we think is best for someone isn’t always what they want for themselves,” he shared. “Working with this community has taught me that it’s about equal collaboration - listening, not assuming.”

As a future physician, Peter says volunteering at Boyle Street has given him invaluable insight into how to break down barriers in care. It’s also helped him challenge harmful stereotypes and be an advocate in other parts of his life.

“There’s a lot of stigma out there,” he said. “But the people I’ve met here have been kind, humble, and strong. That’s what I tell others when they ask why I volunteer.”

Rick

Rick (right, wearing blue) and Dan Zimmerman (left, wearing black), our Community Relationship Lead

Rick has been volunteering with Boyle Street since before the pandemic. He first started by helping serve coffee in the drop-in centre, and now assists with lunch preparation every Tuesday alongside longtime staff member Ani, our kitchen coordinator and in-house chef. His work may be quiet, but it is deeply rooted in love.

Rick and his wife became involved in harm reduction advocacy after losing their son to an accidental opioid overdose. Volunteering with Boyle Street has become a way for Rick to walk alongside the community his son was once part of. “In a way,” he shared, “working in the kitchen, like he did, is a way of walking in his footsteps.”

Rick values the small interactions, like handing out coffee or making sandwiches, just as much as the big systemic questions around homelessness and housing. He chooses to stay involved - to witness, to serve, and to support.

“Anyone with an open mind and an open heart should try it,” he said. “There’s nothing to be afraid of. You just have to show up and listen.”

Sylvia

Sylvia is a key force behind one of our vitally important fundraising efforts: bingo. Volunteering primarily at Fort Road Bingo, Sylvia has put in hundreds of hours in the past few years. When she realized Boyle Street didn’t have a consistent presence in Edmonton’s charity bingo network, Sylvia reached out and offered to help fix it. With her help, our bingo fundraising is stronger than ever.

Sylvia (front right, in the gray sweater) holding a Boyle Street blanket

With nearly 1,000 volunteer hours logged across multiple charities, Sylvia gives back with intention and heart. “When you retire,” she said, “you look around and think: what’s going to give me purpose?” For Sylvia, that purpose is helping others - and bringing joy while doing it.

She loves the flexibility of the role, the friendships she’s built, and the ability to keep active in a way that feels meaningful. Whether training new volunteers or getting to know bingo patrons by name, Sylvia makes people feel seen.

“We’re here to help others,” she said. “Really, we are - right from the day we’re born.”

Heather

Heather, who works for EPCOR, was invited by a colleague to join a volunteer group activity to build care packages for community members. Having built care packages at her past job, she was drawn to how easy, well organized and fun the process was.

"It's an easy way to participate and give back to the community. Just drop in, do it and you feel like you made a difference," she says.

Heather sees Boyle Street Community Services as an important part of the downtown Edmonton community. “Boyle Street has always been part of our community here,” she says. “I work downtown every day.” Through building care packages, volunteers provide essential items that are important and requested by community members - nothing random that no one wants or needs.

After assembling the packages, volunteers get the chance to deliver them and meet community members face-to-face. Although Heather admits she’s not naturally outgoing, and meeting people is hard, she found the experience heartwarming. “Everyone was friendly and grateful. It was a really nice day — I enjoyed it a lot,” she says.

The contents of a care package.

One thing that left a lasting impression on her was the strong sense of community among those experiencing homelessness. “Maybe someone who is unable to come to us to receive a package, someone would come on their behalf. And then go back and see if anybody else needed help,” Heather observed. The experience gave her a new perspective on homelessness in Edmonton.

“I used to be more fearful, but I’m not anymore. They’re just people trying to live their lives.”

Thank You Volunteers

Boyle Street’s volunteers are listeners, advocates, and community builders. Their presence lightens the load on staff, brings moments of connection to community members, and helps challenge public narratives about who belongs and who deserves compassion.

To everyone who has given their time to walk alongside us: thank you. You are part of this story.