- Home
- Get involved
- Volunteer
Volunteer
The full detail: what the roles are, what a camp day asks of you, and how to sign up. If you are still deciding between ways to help, start on the Get involved page instead.
What you gain
You will leave a better leader than you arrived
Volunteering at Open Ice is a gift to the children on the ice. It is also one of the best leadership experiences a young person can have.
Lead a team
Camp volunteers are Program Assistants. Each one leads a small house group of campers through the day, under professional coaching: on the ice, at lunch and in the closing circle.
They learn to lead, to communicate clearly with children and families, to stay calm when a plan changes and to work as one team. Their hours count toward the community service every Ontario student needs to graduate.
Build real skills
Volunteers and Headquarters Team members learn the skills every organization needs: leadership, organization, logistics, budgeting, clear communication, working in teams, public speaking and building partnerships.
Students who join the twenty member Headquarters Team put those skills to work every week. With the founder and an adult administration team, and overseen by the board, they make sure every Open Ice chapter across Ontario runs to the Open Ice standard, and they run the flagship camps in Toronto.
See what it means to the campers
Every child who joins Open Ice has never played hockey before. Over one camp they learn to skate with confidence, stop, handle a puck, pass and play as a team, coached by professionals and grouped by ability from the first morning.
Just as important, they learn that they belong in a rink. They make friends, cheer for each other, and take on daily challenges built around courage, teamwork, resilience and leadership. They leave with real skills, new friendships and a full set of equipment to keep playing.
The jobs
What volunteers do
- On ice: support the coaching staff, help beginners up, run stations
- Gear: fitting, handout and the Keep Your Gear graduation
- Registration: greeting families, checking forms, answering questions
- Logistics: lunches, water, transitions between sessions
The next camp
Christmas Camp 2026
Five days, planned at four arenas across Toronto. The exact times for each arena go out with the volunteer package. As a guide, at the summer camp volunteers arrived at 7:45 on day one and 8:00 on the other days, pickup was 3:00, and lunch was provided for volunteers too.
If a camp has a media day, a photographer is on site all day and press may attend. Wear your Open Ice shirt. Volunteers must not post photographs or video of campers from their own devices. If a journalist approaches you, send them to Andrew.
How to sign up
How to sign up
Tell us your name, your age or grade, and which camps or dates you can cover. We send the volunteer information package and the schedule back by email.