Giving back is part of our Internship Program

Tina Budnarain–Tackichand: The Canadian Council of Churches

At the beginning of 2009, I had the opportunity as part of my Internship at Ecclesiastical to volunteer at the Canadian Council of Churches (CCC) in Toronto. The CCC represents a broad range of religious organizations and operates as a platform in which everyone’s voice matters and all people are equal. Currently, the CCC is in the process of organizing and hosting the 6th Annual World Interfaith Religious Leaders Summit in Winnipeg MB which will bring together senior religious leaders primarily from the G8 nations and Africa.

The goal of the Summit is to have the G8 fulfill their commitments to the world's most poor and vulnerable e.g. eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, universal education, promoting gender equality, reducing child mortality rates, helping with the fight against HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, and helping ensure environmental sustainability. The leaders will work together to create a detailed statement, which will be sent to the 2010 G8 Summit a few days later.

My role at the CCC was to assist in developing an event plan ranging from timelines, developing applications, databases, registration forms and checklists that would aide in coordinating and planning the summit.

I developed a great appreciation for the work of the CCC and its contribution to various faith organizations throughout Canada and the world. Being part of such a committed group of people who work towards shaping and changing the world has been a very rewarding and humbling experience. This opportunity allowed me to work on projects that were truly "one of a kind" and provided me with a chance to "step out of the box" and use the skill sets developed during my other rotations at Ecclesiastical.