From Victoria to Halifax, one of the most popular requests from Lighthouse Labs alumni and developers is: “how do we give back to our community?” As a developer, finding opportunities to volunteer and mentor may seem daunting. With so many meetups and hackathons, sometimes it seems like opportunities are all at once or not available at all. We hear you, and that’s why we have curated opportunities from coast to coast to get you out and about in the community!

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Why should developers volunteer?

Community building as a developer can lead to so many unexpected benefits! From career connections, skills expansion, and beyond - pitching in is a sure fire way to step you and your community’s game up a notch. All for one and one for all, as they say.

Mentorship is by far the most requested form of volunteering we hear about - which makes total sense! Our bootcamp grads get to experience the learning environment and range of possibilities mentorship provides with Lighthouse Labs’ fully supported approach to industry coaching. The best way to jump into a volunteer mentor role is by supporting free community workshops.

Lighthouse Labs is honoured to throw these semi-regularly, which you can find more about here or contact your local Community Manager. Another great way to get involved is through hackathons. Our former Toronto Community Manager, Izzy, started a crowd-sourced list of Canadian hackathons to support their growth. You can check out the past year's opportunities in your community and explore mentorship options here to get a sense of some of the annual events!

We’ve rounded up some of Canada’s other exciting developer volunteer opportunities below. Did we miss an event or do you have a volunteer opportunity to share? Contact us to share with our community.

NATIONAL

VANCOUVER

CALGARY

MONTREAL

TORONTO

VICTORIA