Volunteering a Great Way to Open Doors

More than 2,000 athletes are expected to attend the 2012 Arctic Winter Games in Whitehorse, happening in March. Organizers have been pressed to secure volunteers, with a total of 1,700 needed in order for the games to run smoothly. People are needed to help with food services, transportation, and security.

Since all volunteers must go through an RCMP background check, time is of the essence. However, this requirement should not deter anyone interested in helping out as conducting criminal background checks for volunteering with most causes is now the norm.

Here are some interesting facts about the Games [2012 Arctic Winter Games website]: 

• The participating teams are Yukon, N.W.T., Nunavut, Nunavik, Northern Alberta, Alaska, Greenland, Saami (Finland, Norway, and Sweden), and Yamal (Russia)

• The first games were held in Yellowknife 1970.

• There are 19 sports in the 2012 games, including snowshoe biathlon, dog mushing, hockey, and figure skating.

• The 2012 mascot is a husky dog named Borealis.

• The 2014 games will be held in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Volunteering your time, services, talents, and energies is actually a multi-faceted endeavor with a great deal of benefits. In addition to helping others, it will help you as well. Have you just recently graduated? Are you seeking a change in your career path? Are you reentering the work force after a period of time? Do you seek new challenges?

Also, volunteering could be thought of as a non-networking way of networking. Since networking is an excellent way to discover that “hidden” job market, the source of unsolicited jobs, you might consider it particularly appealing if you are somewhat introverted or simply aren’t comfortable trying the conventional ways to network.

Through volunteering, you expose yourself to other people with similar interests. Along the way, you are bound to learn new skills as you take on the duties and responsibilities for the activity you have committed yourself to. Your leadership potential, willingness to take initiative, desire to assist, ability to function as part of a team – all these assets will certainly be discovered.

If you feel you are being held back because you have a criminal record, you should definitely contact Pardon Services Canada to obtain a Pardon, which will remove your record from the Canadian Police Information Centre’s database so that it is no longer accessible during criminal record checks. A Client Specialist will ensure that your application will be processed expeditiously and you will be kept informed at each stage of the process.

Encumbered by Debt, Saw No Way Out

Debt is like any other trap, easy enough to get into, but hard enough to get out of [Henry Wheeler Shaw] – With significant debt and credit obligations, “John” became burdened with an enormous debt load as he was inexperienced with managing his financial commitments. Having multiple creditors and feeling powerless and fearful, he made the fateful decision to bilk his employer to try to make the long-overdue payments.


Since that time, he has attended a debt counseling workshop and has completely restored his excellent credit rating. With a supportive family, he has completed an apprenticeship at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology and now holds a journeyman machinist certification. His path has not been easy, but he feels it has been rewarding, having learned many valuable lessons about himself and his role as husband, father, and member of the community.

His pardon has improved his ability to travel for work as well as allowed him to work in roles for which security clearance is required. He believes it has also helped to lessen the shame and embarrassment he feels due to the mistakes he has made. He looks forward to being able to help with his children’s sports teams and clubs by coaching or volunteering.

Anyone wanting to apply for a pardon should take advantage of a complimentary private consultation. Pardon Services Canada’s role and familiarity with the pardon process will ensure that all documents required are obtained in a timely manner and that each applicant’s case is handled expeditiously.

Speak to a Client Specialist – toll free at 1-8-NOW-PARDON (1.866.972.7366) – at Pardon Services Canada to guide you through the process.

Temptation Obscures the Obvious

Better shun the bait than struggle in the snare [John Dryden] – Here is the story about how one young man has overcome a most unfortunate introduction to life in Canada.


As a recent immigrant to Canada in the mid-eighties, having settled in Lethbridge, Alberta, he got his first job as a delivery driver for a local pizza parlor. He found a credit card in the parking lot of a nearby convenience store and put it in his pocket. In his home country at that time, there were no such things as credit cards. Later on, he told a coworker about what he had found. This person said that they could use the card to get free gas at a local gas station. Being young and naïve, he didn’t fully realize just what was he was about to do. He did sense this wasn’t right, but feeling the peer pressure, being gullible, he agreed to let his coworker use the card at a gas station for himself and his friends. After the card had been used this way a few times, the police eventually came to his home to arrest him. His coworker had been questioned by the police and then implicated him while denying any participation.

Now a husband and parent, he looks back on what happened with great embarrassment, wishing he had followed his instincts and not taken part in such fraudulent activities. Following this most unfortunate stage of his new life in Canada, he has not been involved in any other criminal activity. He has a son for whom he feels he is a role model, having a positive attitude and demonstrating a law-abiding life style. He spends a great deal of time helping his son in his sports endeavors as well as assisting his church and the local community kitchen. He has embraced his religion, attending church regularly, seeing this as a positive influence in his life.

His pardon has allowed him to secure better employment in order to afford to travel with his family to popular vacation destinations and to attend such local events as the Calgary Stampede. Pardon Services Canada offers a complimentary private consultation for anyone wanting to apply for a pardon, to have his police file deleted, or to obtain a US Entry Waiver. Pardon Services Canada’s role and familiarity with the pardon process will ensure that all documents required are obtained in a timely manner and that each applicant’s case is handled expeditiously.

Speak to a Client Specialist – toll free at 1-8-NOW-PARDON (1.866.972.7366) – at Pardon Services Canada to guide you through the process.

A Straight Life Is The Best Life - Leading By Example

“Success”: favorable termination of attempts; attainment; triumph; fruition – the concept, regardless of how it is defined, always produces a positive, anticipating, elating feeling.

No matter how minor or serious the circumstance might be that a troubled person is contending with, to feel a measure of success when having overcome the consequences is uplifting to say the least.

Here is a brief story of a woman who, after overcoming a controlling drug addiction, has become successful and content and has gained a renewed sense of well being after receiving her Canadian pardon.

As a young woman she was introduced to drugs, which led to a life of destruction, as is so obvious. She worked hard to totally dissociate herself from all involvement with crime or past associates. She is very remorseful when looking back and realizing all those wasted years. She has not indulged in drugs or alcohol for nearly twenty years. Her goals now are to continue teach her family by example - that a straight life is the best life. And to continue to grow - by helping her community thus achieving self-fulfillment.

She has done a complete turnaround with the love and support of her family who have helped her overcome her past. She has lived a quiet life, caring for her grandson while her daughter worked and her elderly mother. She also taught illiterate adults to read and write, a most valuable experience as she was helping not only herself, but others as well.

A pardon from Pardon Services Canada has given her the freedom to travel with her family to the U.S. on holidays. She no longer lives with the fear of someone in the community finding out about her past, which she so regrets. She also has been given the opportunity to do volunteer work that her criminal record had previously prevented.

If you are in similar circumstances yourself, Contact Pardon Services Canada for help applying for and obtaining your Canadian criminal pardon. You too can gain the peace of mind and a second shot at living a life free of a criminal record.

Everyone makes mistakes. Don’t let your past limit your future.