Our mission.
CompanionLink is a Canadian charity that promotes the social and emotional wellness of seniors by offering virtual one-on-one friendships, direct-impact programming, and mentorship opportunities with compassionate, well-trained volunteers. We aim to alleviate isolation and loneliness, foster intergenerational learning, and celebrate the value seniors bring to our world.
Our vision.
We aim to become Canada’s benchmark for innovative, virtual programming, digital training, and one-one one volunteer/senior client friendships designed to alleviate isolation and loneliness while empowering, engaging, and enhancing the wellness of our senior population.
Our values.
At CompanionLink we have 4 key values:
- Respect
We treat our senior clients and volunteers with consideration and courtesy. - Inclusion
We work with all communities to ensure barrier-free connections. - Empowerment
We recognize the value of seniors and volunteers and understand the importance of providing opportunities for growth and celebration. - Collaboration
We work with like-minded agencies to expand our reach to as many senior communities as possible.
Our history.
CompanionLink was born after a chance meeting of our founders — a community member providing virtual friendships to seniors living in long-term care facilities during the COVID-19 lock downs, and a University of Toronto Professor whose course on aging and dementia provided students the opportunity to become friendly visitors to seniors in long-term care. Together, they quickly realized the impact of a simple virtual befriending experience and CompanionLink was born.
Our impact.
Since its inception in 2021, CompanionLink’s Companion Call Program has matched over 100 senior clients with volunteers. After only six months, participants reported a 39% reduction in feelings of loneliness. With the help of our volunteers and partners, we’re excited to see the opportunities we can bring to communities long-term.
Diversity and inclusion.
CompanionLink is a diverse organization that values and embraces equal opportunity in its operations, community engagement, employment, volunteer recruitment, and decision-making. CompanionLink is strengthened by its inclusion of all people, actively inviting differences of thought inspired by contrasting backgrounds and perspectives. CompanionLink embraces and encourages employee and volunteer differences in color, ethnicity, family or marital status, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, physical and mental ability, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, and other characteristics that make our people unique.
Land acknowledgment.
We acknowledge the land we are on is the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. We also acknowledge that Toronto is covered by Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit.