WCC Volunteer Facilitators Touch Lives

In every WCC community writing workshop, trained volunteer facilitators ignite deep connection and illuminate the magnificent voice of every person. The impact is immediate and wide-reaching, proven to create deep connection, increase resilience, and strengthen self-advocacy among community members. 

They provide workshops in various settings, including:

• Community centres and social service agencies, such as those providing supports for underhoused, addiction, mental illness, youth, women, elders, adult learners, and Indigenous, immigrant, refugee and 2SLGBTQQIA communities, veterans and more — learn more about our program partners
• Virtually via Zoom or on-site

About Facilitator Training

WCC equips its facilitators with comprehensive training and support. Training sessions are offered several times a year. Currently, each session runs from a Friday evening through Saturday and Sunday. Check the Training Calendar in the sidebar for upcoming dates and read on to learn more about what is involved

Who Makes a Good Facilitator

WCC facilitators come from many backgrounds and bring a variety of skills and lived experience. Consider becoming a facilitator if any one of these sounds like you:

• You believe strongly in the WCC’s work and methodology
• You work directly with a community that can benefit from deeper connection, increased resilience, and improved self-advocacy
• You wish to advocate for traditionally underserved communities and underheard voices
• You facilitate in other contexts already, love doing it, and want to broaden your experience and skillset
• You are a writer with a passion to share the power of writing in community
• You are a WCC workshop participant who is excited to share the experience with others

What Happens Before, During, and After Training

The weekend of training is inspiring, challenging, and experiential. Volunteers gain a deep and practical understanding of WCC’s philosophy and values, learn tools and strategies for successful facilitation, and practice by modeling workshop sessions in a supportive environment.

Prior to training, volunteers are highly encouraged to:

• Attend WCC workshops.
• Read Writing Alone and with Others by Pat Schneider, founder of the Amherst Writers and Artists Method. Reading her book will enhance your training experience. Order online or through your local bookstore/library.
• Complete the Facilitator Application, which can be downloaded in the sidebar.

Prior to training, volunteers are encouraged to read our chapbook, Why We Write: Ten Years at Writers Collective of Canada. You will receive a PDF link once you have been accepted into the Training, and a hard copy once you become a facilitator.

After training, volunteers will provide workshops for partner organizations, join an existing workshop series, or initiate a new workshop series through WCC staff. Co-facilitation is a best-practice at WCC. We will strive to pair you with a more experienced co-facilitator for your earliest workshops. We have morning, afternoon, evening, and weekend workshop slots available.

• Facilitators must commit to volunteering for a minimum of one 10-week session — this means one 90 to 120-minute workshop per week for a minimum of 10 weeks. The 10 weeks need not necessarily be consecutive.
• We provide ongoing support and supervision to ensure that the workshop experience is meaningful and rewarding for all of our writers, facilitators and agency partners.