February Volunteer Honour Roll

The Volunteer Honour Roll is an opportunity for our youth volunteers to be recognized by their peers and Team Leaders. These volunteers have shown a tremendous amount of effort, positivity, and leadership over the past month, and we want to celebrate them!

Constantin Koster
























“Hi, I am Constantin and I’m 14 years old. Having a disability has greatly impacted my life. For 6 years, I could only think my thoughts but never share them, simply because I could not speak. This made me feel very sad, lonely and so different from everybody else. Even though I got a lot of help, all I felt was just: I can’t speak; I can’t hang out with friends because that involves talking; I can’t have friends really; I can’t fit in; I’m always the slowest in my class; I can’t go to summer camps like my brother or sister. Instead, I see therapists and study for school. Kids pity me. I have a disability which keeps me away from so much, except for going to school.



I went to some summer camps and I did not enjoy them. I was always last in everything and kids found me awkward because of my speech. When I googled for alternatives, I found “Camp Bonaventure” with Between Friends. This is a summer camp for kids with and without disabilities. This changed my life a lot! So I came to “Camp Bonaventure” with Between Friends and was welcomed by volunteers as the most special kid in the world. I couldn’t believe it. Wow! Nobody looked at me weird, they just took me as I was: Constantin. Yes, I have problems, but who cares? Let’s have fun together. They connected with me, we all had a blast and I realized that there are other kids with issues and IT’S OK. No therapy could teach me that. I needed to FEEL it. We went to the zoo, swam and did so much more. I made friends and talked as never before. Then, another amazing thing happened, Amanda from Between Friends offered me to become a volunteer myself through a program called “I.C.A.N!” Kids and teens with disabilities can be part of many programs and get extra support when they need it. Then, I was offered to become a volunteer with “Youth Central”. My buddy Colton, who works with this wonderful organization, is a mentor for me in this program. Now instead of being lonely and either studying for school or by my computer as it was last year, I am out in the community volunteering every Saturday. I helped at Heritage Park, the Zoo, Auburn House and more.



Before, I always thought that life was so hard because of my disability. But through volunteering I learned the biggest lesson of my life, I CAN do things and make a difference. People are actually grateful that I am there. I don’t see myself anymore as the kid with a disability anymore but with something very special: A “ME-ABILITY”. I can help as much as possible and that makes our community a better place.” – Constantin Koster, YVC Volunteer