Meet Joseph, TELUS Wise Ambassador: a story of community impact and purpose

In recognition of National Volunteer Week, I sat down with Joseph Talavera, one of our most dedicated TELUS Wise Ambassadors. Since first volunteering with the program in 2015, Joseph has made a staggering impact, hosting over 215 workshops and reaching more than 15,000 participants to help them stay safe in our digital world.

We discussed what sparks his passion for giving back, from internet safety advocacy to community meals and blood donation. Joseph shares a remarkable journey of meaningful impact and unexpected rewards.

What got you into volunteering?

As a young adult, I first started volunteering to satisfy an inner desire to "participate" in and "contribute" to my community and the world around me. Volunteering is tremendously rewarding. It's given me opportunities to, as the saying goes, “Be the Change”, but also yielded wonderful relationships I've made along the way (including within the TELUS Wise team), and amazing life experiences that I never could have anticipated.

What cause(s) do you support?

For over a decade, I've volunteered with TELUS Wise as an Ambassador, delivering our internet safety and digital citizenship workshops in our communities, both in-person and virtually, to help empower people of all ages to stay safe in our digital world.

I'm also an active volunteer with my church's "Community Bread" program, which I've supported since 2017. Along with our dedicated volunteers, people in need can come and have a full, balanced dinner with us once per week. Our volunteers are divided into teams, so I'm in the kitchen, with my “Team #3”, every five weeks.

Additionally, I'm a frequent blood donor. I started as soon as I became eligible at 17 years-old. I try to give as often as I can, up to six times per year for whole blood donation. Earlier this year, I made my 125th donation! I'm already looking ahead to my 127th donation, which is booked for early May.

Why is this cause important to you?

All the causes I support are deeply important, both to me, and (I feel) to the communities that I am a part of. When I first started with TELUS Wise, I was skeptical about the scenarios presented in the training material. But when I talked to my then-teens, I was surprised (and shocked!) that the things TELUS Wise was raising awareness about were actually happening in my own universe, in-and-around the people that I care about the most.

When I deliver our workshops in the community, I feel I can make a direct impact by giving practical tips that I use myself or that others have told me have worked for them, to help audiences be safer online and by sharing my own experiences and learnings as a digital citizen and parent.

At Community Bread, we provide our guests (anywhere from 60 to 100 per evening), shelter from the elements in a safe environment, access to washroom facilities and running water, and even social interaction. On top of all this, we serve wonderful food that our program purchases thanks to our generous financial donors and that our volunteers prepare and serve. I started donating blood in high school because it felt amazing and I could literally be saving lives.

Have you seen the impact of your volunteer efforts?

Absolutely. With TELUS Wise, I get to interact with audiences in their communities. It's great to talk with children about the games they're playing and parlay that into a conversation about "stranger danger" online. Or, when talking with other parents, I encourage them to share what they're doing in their own homes to keep their families safe. It's wonderful to learn from them too.

At Community Bread, this feedback from one of our guests really moved me:

"I have to tell you, we all like coming here the best. It is the best food of any place, and it feels so warm and welcoming. A lot of us come here for social time, you know. It's our favourite."

A couple of other guests at the table murmured in agreement with him.

Just over a decade ago, my connection to blood donation became even more personal and meaningful: My own father, and then, a few short months later, my wife’s uncle, needed blood transfusions as part of medical treatments they were undergoing.

I had always known people’s lives were being sustained by Canada’s national blood supply, managed by Canadian Blood Services that I had been donating to for decades, but there was a whole new level of impact when I could think of two people, that I know “in real life” who were on the receiving end of blood donations like mine. I am so proud to know that I’m helping people like them, and it feels wonderful!

What is something you didn't expect to get out of volunteering?

Over twenty years ago, I first met my now-wife, who was employed at one of the mentoring agencies I volunteered with. I signed up to be a volunteer mentor for a young person in need…and that choice led me to the spouse and family that I am blessed to wake up to each day.

How has volunteering benefited you personally?

Beyond meeting my wife, I've had some amazing life experiences. Through the aforementioned role with a mentoring organization, I was able to attend very intimate, private concerts (being less than a metre away from The Barenaked Ladies for example), sporting events (with all of Toronto’s professional sports teams: Blue Jays, Raptors, Argos, Maple Leafs), and even got to take groups of kids to Tim Horton’s Camp in Central Ontario.

Do you have a goal or something you are working towards through volunteering?

No real goal other than to continue to volunteer and give back so long as I am able. However, I did recently learn that an old friend (from my high school days) is the prime contact to raise awareness about blood donation, to his fellow employees where he works (at one of Canada’s “Big Six” banks)...so I can’t very well let his donation count creep past mine, now can I?.

What advice would you give to others who would like to start volunteering?

DO IT! Lots of people, myself included, will contemplate volunteering, but “life’s busy” and we “don’t have the time”

Break that cycle! Fill out the webform! Send an email! Pick up the phone and make the call! Reach out and see where the journey takes you!

As I look back on all the volunteer opportunities I've dived into, I have zero regrets. Now, I probably wouldn't volunteer to “drive service-dogs-in-training from home to their training site” again. That wasn't my thing. But I fulfilled my commitment and then found something else that was a better fit for me.

In closing

Joseph's story is a powerful reminder that volunteering isn't just about giving back. It's about personal growth, meaningful connections, and the profound impact we can have on our communities.

At TELUS, we're proud to be caring for the well-being of our communities by volunteering over 1.5M hours for the third consecutive year. As the most giving company in the world, our long-standing Give Where We Live philosophy continues to inspire our global community. Joseph's dedication exemplifies this commitment perfectly.

This National Volunteer Week, consider taking Joseph's advice: DO IT! Whether you're inspired by his journey or driven by your own passion to give back, remember that every hour volunteered, every community meal served, and every life touched creates ripples of positive change. The time to start is now.