Community Volunteer Experience

At Westward Advisors, we pride ourselves not only on our leading insurance-based tax and estate planning solutions, but also on our strategic engagement initiatives within the community. Simply put- we care about our community and the people who  live in it. We want to do our part to give back to the community, and that’s why we developed The Community Volunteer Experience^TM for our team members. The Community Volunteer Experience^TM is part of our ‘Extraordinary Westward Culture’, and the project was designed to enable Westward’s people to contribute something positive to a charitable cause or organization of their choice.  

click on images to enlarge / click and drag to move

Through the initiative Westward team members have an opportunity to volunteer in the community 3 days per year. This is Westward’s way of sharing our success with the community at large. Westward’s volunteers describe the experience as one of personal growth and learning about important issues that challenge our community, and we are excited to be a part of positive social change. It has enabled us to feel a sense of connection to many worthy social causes in our home base of Vancouver. Our team members have a mission to instill the values of giving and sharing wherever we go, and we hope to motivate other companies to implement similar programs.  

The Community Volunteer Experience^TM was created and implemented by Westward’s Director of Corporate Affairs Grant Twitchett. Grant has been active in the community for years, and one of the best experiences he had was as a volunteer for Big Brothers of Canada. Big Brothers conducts numerous charitable clothing drives in Vancouver throughout the year to gather donations for families in need.  Big Brothers also has a mentoring program that aims to build long-lasting, meaningful relationships between volunteers and boys who may be without a positive male influence in their lives.  

Grant says he was inspired to start the Community Volunteer initiative because he recognized that Westward is comprised of team members who are keen to volunteer, but who do not always have time in their busy schedules. “This program not only gives staff the opportunity to volunteer, but also provides them with time do it” he said. Grant also believes the team benefits from the chance to learn about different events and organizations that exist for the betterment of the community and that the Volunteer Experience gives them a sense of achievement through civic engagement.  

Westward is proud of our team members’ accomplishments within the Community Volunteer initiative. Some notable cases include Darren Lee and Grant Twitchett’s contributions to A Loving Spoonful, an organization that provides free, nutritious meals to people living with HIV/AIDS in greater Vancouver.  

Michael Lee volunteered in the Emergency Ward at St. Paul’s hospital, where he spent 2 hours a week for 4 months assisting hospital staff in locating wheelchairs for the emergency waiting room and replenishing clothing and blanket stocks for patient use. He also helped to direct calls and acted as a liaison between patients, visitors and staff. Michael remembers, “I once had a negative experience visiting a friend in hospital and getting lost. I remember thinking how much I’d appreciate it if there was someone there to help me.”  

Roland Parker coaches hockey for the Boys and Girls Club of North Vancouver. Roland taught the children not only the fundamentals of playing the game, but also the values of sportsmanship and teamwork. Roland proudly led the Kelowna all-stars team to a championship win in 2008. “It is great to watch these kids grow, both on and off the hockey floor. I am learning a great deal about interaction between children and love being a part of the Boys and Girls Club team”, said Roland.   

Westward Advisors would like to thank all our team members for their hard work and dedication to the Community Volunteer Experience^TM.