Matt Mason, pictured here with House of Friendship staff member Molly Mackenzie, loves volunteering at House Supportive Housing of Friendship.
Matt Mason learned something very important about himself during the COVID-19 pandemic – working remotely was not for him.
“I missed the human interaction,” said Matt. “I missed the rhythm of going to work and seeing everybody. Conversing over Skype was not the same as seeing somebody in person and being able to communicate with them.”
Matt decided that he wanted to look at another career path for himself. He moved back home and started work with H&R Block while he figured out his next move.
And while he made this change, Matt made another one – he decided to volunteer with House of Friendship.
“I heard about House of Friendship from one of my clients, and later learned that my mom knew about House of Friendship as well,” said Matt. “It was kind of a word-of-mouth thing.”
He decided to learn more, and liked what he found out.
“House of Friendship is super diverse, and touches on so many different aspects of the community,” said Matt. “I decided I wanted to be part of it.”
Matt volunteers in a variety of ways – supporting the Neighbourhood Food Programs at local community centres, House of Friendship’s annual events like Friendship Dinner and Friendship Golf, and the Christmas Food Program in December.
For Matt, seeing the depth of the challenges facing our community has been humbling.
“When I go out to the food programs and start seeing how many people are coming in on a weekly basis, it kind of brings home the need,” said Matt.
Matt applies that lens to his volunteer work, making sure he makes the experience for those picking up food as smooth and as efficient as possible.
“We don’t want anyone waiting an extra 15, 20 or 30 minutes while we are getting everything ready,” said Matt. “We want to respect everyone’s time.”
Matt encourages others to consider taking the time to volunteer.
“Life is busy for everybody,” said Matt. “But if you have a few spare hours per week or even per month that you can spare, it’s worth it.”
“You’ll meet some fantastic people and get to make a difference.”
To learn more about volunteering at House of Friendship, visit www.houseoffriendship.org/ volunteer.
