Carole Rinas is an enthusiastic Rambler from Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, with a contagious zest for life and cold water ocean-dipping.
I’m a one-off volunteer—or at least that’s what I prefer for the most part. I always thought volunteering meant committing to monthly board meetings or regular shifts at the hospital, care home, or with local organizations. But I don’t want to commit because I want to be free to ramble, sleep in, or… well, you get the idea.
That said, I realize I’ve been volunteering on and off for a long time. My mom was a social worker with Big Brothers of Metropolitan Toronto, and I would go into her office and help with office tasks. I also did paid work there for a short period, but this article is about volunteering.
The earliest volunteering I can remember actually signing up for was with the Canadian Red Cross, which used to run the blood donor clinics. We had recently moved to Nanaimo, and I went to donate—which I did—and ended up becoming a volunteer. I first worked at the snack table (they had Tim Horton’s donuts then), and then I sat at the front desk registering people from a massive book.
This was way before Canadian Blood Services took over, computerized everything, and required most volunteers to be medical professionals. It was regular volunteering in the sense that I knew when they came to town, I’d be volunteering, but because it wasn’t every week or even every month, it wasn’t a big commitment.
Since then, I’ve volunteered at water tables for road races (as a way to give back for all the volunteers who supported me when I was running), was a scorekeeper at a local charity event for the Humboldt Broncos, kept score for my son’s soccer games, and managed my older son’s lacrosse team (that was a big commitment). Somewhat more recently, in 2014, I volunteered with the BC Summer Games here in Nanaimo as part of the awards committee.
When I retired in September 2022, I thought it was time to up my volunteering game, so I signed up as a board member for a local group. I went to one board meeting and then quit. I didn’t retire to get involved in drama and head games. It kind of put me off looking for anything else for a while, but I knew that I wanted to contribute in some way.
Fast forward to early 2024. My cousin in the Netherlands has volunteered at numerous European sporting events and told me she was applying to volunteer at the Invictus Games in Vancouver and Whistler in 2025. So I applied. It was about a nine-month process, but I was accepted—and so was my ocean-dipping bestie. Unfortunately, my cousin was not (but she is going to Milan for the 2026 Winter Olympics to volunteer with short track).
The Invictus Games were an amazing experience, and it was one-and-done in the sense that it started on February 8 and ended on February 16. They were long days of keeping score at sitting volleyball and wheelchair basketball, working with the tech crew, and patrolling the Invictus Games Village. Every night, I went back to my hotel exhausted but happy. And yes, I saw Prince Harry in person. He was sitting right across the floor from where I was scorekeeping.
Since then, I’ve joined Elder Dog, first as a dog walker and then as a foster home. I’ve sat at the Elder Dog information table at Canadian Tire and the Nanaimo Seniors’ Health Fair, rode the BC Ferries back and forth from Nanaimo to Vancouver selling poppies for the Royal Canadian Legion, inspected and reboxed items for The Shoebox Project (which supports local women impacted by homelessness, with six other local Sole Sisters), and helped families in need at the Nanaimo Toy Drive (also with a local Sole Sister).
Currently, I am a foster mom to Jesse, a 7-year-old black Labrador, whose owner is recuperating from surgery.
What’s next, you might ask. I have no idea. Jesse is with us for another ten days, and I have no other volunteer activities scheduled—but that could change tomorrow. As one of my Nanaimo Sole Sisters says,
“Carole, nothing you do surprises me.”
That said, I am starting training next week to become a Community Police Volunteer. It’s a two-year commitment with a request for 40 hours a year—which, when you break it down, is really just about four hours a month. I think I can handle that.
READ MORE > Her Story, Rambler Cafe Blog
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