As part of our ongoing commitment to building a community of care on York’s campuses this winter, the university is launching a Care Ambassadors Program. This is a pan-institutional initiative designed to help all community members safely transition to being back at York.  

This month, we are looking for faculty and staff volunteers who are interested in working alongside students who will be employed as Care Ambassadors. In general, ambassadors will help community members with wayfinding, access to general campus services, and will promote York’s health and safety requirements, including the need to wear masks or face coverings in all indoor spaces and use YU Screen daily before coming to campus.  

The Care Ambassadors Program will begin on Monday, January 10, 2022, and will conclude on Friday, February 18, 2022. During this six-week period, trained Ambassadors will be stationed in pairs at 24 different locations on the Keele Campus and at 3 locations on the Glendon Campus. Ambassadors will be easy to spot in red shirts identifying their roles, and they will maintain a friendly and educative approach to supporting a return to in-person activities on York’s campuses.  

How it works 

• Ambassadors can pick the number of shifts they would like to work each week.  
• Shifts can be as short as one hour in length and staff may sign up to volunteer for 2-4 hours per week, to the extent that duties permit and with the permission of their manager or Dean.   
• Managers and Deans are asked to permit the participation of staff or faculty members, as part of their employee’s regularly scheduled workday and without conflict to regularly scheduled meal breaks.  

How to become a Care Ambassador 

Volunteer your time by filling out this interest form and if applicable, staff members should initiate a conversation with their manager or Dean about their interest. You must use your Passport York (PPY) account to access the form and more information about scheduling and orientation will be provided to those who complete it by December 13, 2021.  

A mandatory 1-hour orientation to the program is required for all who are interested in participating. Orientation will be delivered using both synchronous and asynchronous options between December 15 and 23, 2021 or between January 6 and 11, 2022 and this must be completed prior to the first shift. 

Need more information?  

Please contact Dr. Dirk Rodricks, Director, Student Engagement via e-mail at: dirkjr@yorku.ca for more information. For all the latest updates on the university’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, please also continue to visit the Better Together website. 

Sincerely, 

Sheila Cote-Meek,
Vice-President Equity, People and Culture  

Parissa Safai,
Special Advisor to the President for Academic Continuity Planning and COVID-19 Response