Call for volunteers to provide wellness checks on international students

Photo by Porapak Apichodilok from Pexels

York International is recruiting volunteers to provide wellness checks to international students who are subject to the Government of Canada’s mandatory quarantine.

As York plans for a safe return to campus, international student arrivals have more than doubled from the peak period of the 2020-21 academic year, with more than 550 students arriving in August. There is a significant and urgent need for volunteers between now and the third week of September.

The volunteers are known as quarantine representatives (QRs) and provide daily wellness check-ins on students who are in quarantine for 14 days. Each wellness check lasts between five and seven minutes. Volunteers will be assigned anywhere between five and 10 students and be provided with a two-hour training session.

This is a great opportunity to connect with international students, provide a
warm welcome and support the students in their transition to university.

Those interested in volunteering should complete the volunteer form, or contact Vinitha Gengatharan, executive director of York International, at vinithag@yorku.ca for more details.

To read more about QRs, visit this YFile story.