Thanks A Million!

This week is National Volunteer Week - a week where we say thank you to Australia's amazing volunteers.

Organisations use this week to hold celebrations, award ceremonies or use a myriad of ways to say thank you to their volunteers.

Volunteering Australia are the drivers of this special week, with able support from state volunteering organisations, such as our own Volunteering Tasmania.

National Volunteer Week (NVW2013) is Australias largest celebration of volunteers and volunteerism. Today there are over 6 million (ABS 2010b) people volunteering annually in Australia, representing 36% of the adult population. Volunteering Australia along with its state and territory network recognises the valuable contribution each individual provides by offering their time, skills and passion, continuing to demonstrate Australias proud culture of giving. (From the Volunteering Australia Website)

Those statistics are amazing.  Over 6 million volunteers giving their time.  They deserve a huge shout out from all of us, so spread the word and say thanks to our volunteers for their gift to our communities, towns and country.

 

THANKS A MILLION!! 

Read more »

Happy International Volunteer Day!! with a fabulous video from across the pond

Today is International Volunteer Day and to celebrate I found this very quirky video produced by Volunteering New Zealand. 




Congratulations to all the volunteers out there.  I certainly appreciate and admire all you do.  Happy IVD 2012!!

VolunteerNZ (2012) Happy International Volunteer Day 2012 from VNZ. [online] Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vQzLn2rzEdY#! [Accessed: 5 Dec 2012].



Read more »

Volunteering Tasmania Rights and Responsibilities Fact Sheet

As a volunteer, you have rights and responsibilities.

Each organisation should have it's own volunteer policies on areas such as safety and security screening, reimbursement of expenses, role responsibilities etc.

As a guide, Volunteering Tasmania have produced an excellent fact sheet for volunteers with general guidelines on what you should expect from your volunteer employer and also what they should be able to expect from you in return.

I've included the fact sheet here, but for more details, visit VT at http://www.volunteeringtas.org.au/for-volunteers/, where you'll also find a number of other fact sheets on issues such as police checks for volunteers and other resources. ( Fact sheet reproduced with kind permission of Volunteering Tasmania)
Fact Sheet Volunteer Rights and Responsibilities

References:

Volunteeringtas.org.au (2012) For Volunteers – Volunteering Tasmania. [online] Available at: http://www.volunteeringtas.org.au/for-volunteers/ [Accessed: 27 Oct 2012].

Read more »

International Volunteer Day 2012 - A day to say thank you!

International Volunteer Day is held every year on 5th December.  It was enacted by the United Nations General Assembly back in 1985 to recognise the invaluable work of volunteers worldwide.

For many organisations, IVD is an ideal occasion to recognise the work of their own volunteers through  recognition ceremonies, certificate presentations, barbecues and parties or working events such as conferences or working bees.

The website, http://www.volunteeractioncounts.org/en/ contains over 1000 stories submitted by volunteers around the world in celebration of their work and the site is designed to raise awareness of the value of volunteering.  This year, the focus for IVD is on sustainable development and peace.

On International Volunteer Day 2012, take a few seconds to reflect on a world without volunteers.  It would be a very different place in my imagination.  No school sports teams, no Loui's Van feeding people in need, no community gardens, no books or musical instruments bought for your local school from school association fundraising, no playgroups, no community transport taking our seniors to their appointments, no volunteer aid for people in developing countries, no clubs  - even shows like the Uni Revue (all volunteers) wouldn't happen.  And this is only a tiny sample of what we'd lose.

I have a friend, Linda,  who lives in the United States, whose craft group volunteers by doing what they love to do - sewing and quilting.  When I put out a call for volunteering stories on Facebook, she told me, "Several ladies here where I live and in surrounding areas donate our time (and sometimes material) and we make lap quilts for local hospitals, and for the Veterans hospital in Reno. We also donate quilts to the Veterans Guest House in Reno (they house not only veterans who travel for care, but also veterans family members.  There are also ladies in my craft group who make pillow cases that are donated to a childrens cancer hospital." 

Her story got me thinking about the amount of people around the world who spend their time doing things like Linda's group to make life a little more comfortable for people who are sick and their families.  Imagine a world without that care.  I hope I never have to experience that.

So on International Volunteer Day, take an extra few moments to say thank you to the people who are selflessly working to make the lives of others safer, more comfortable, more fun or just a bit easier. 

And if that person is you, I'd like to say thank you for making my world a better place.

Read more »

Do Something Near You - community and volunteering portal

Looking for a volunteer position?

Why not check out "Do Something Near You" -  a community directory and volunteer portal where possible volunteering opportunities are available within a huge database, searchable by area, organisation or type of work.

You might have seen the TV ad campaign hosted by Dr Karl Kruszelnicki.  DSNY is an initiative of a number of businesses, charities and organisations whose aim it is to encourage participation in volunteering, local initiatives and non-profit organisations.  Organisations are invited to register to include their projects and opportunities.

A search of the Hobart area I tried, brought up pages and pages of contact details from Landcare to State Emergency Service to LINC Tasmania. 

It's certainly worth checking out as a useful resource to find places to volunteer.




Dosomethingnearyou.com.au (2011) Do Something Near You! – Australia's largest community directory. [online] Available at: http://www.dosomethingnearyou.com.au/ [Accessed: 25 Nov 2012].
Tincanbay.qld.lions.org.au (2012) TIN CAN BAY - Australia. [online] Available at: http://tincanbay.qld.lions.org.au/news [Accessed: 25 Nov 2012].

Read more »

Take it from Elmo. You're never too young to start volunteering!

Just what does it mean to volunteer?  In this short video from Sesame Street, Elmo and Usher explain it all.

I love the idea of planting the volunteering seed in young minds. 

The Australian Youth Council produced a report in 2010 entitled Gen Y and Flexible Volunteering which found that there are many benefits for young people who volunteer, including:

• it can be enjoyable, interesting and/or exciting
• there can be a sense of satisfaction in helping others
• volunteering provides professional development opportunities
• it can improve career/job opportunities (often a route to paid employment)
• improved communication skills
• increased resilience
• feeling valued and needed
• feeling a sense of belonging
• learning about the world and its problems
• young people can use their existing skills and attributes, while also learning new skills
• Improved self confidence
• meeting new people and making new friends
• appreciation and acknowledgment for the part that they play
• increased involvement in their communities

In my previous role within a Neighbourhood House, I saw members of our Youth Task Force become involved in organising community fun days, assist our local primary school with their school social - including decoration making workshops with their afterschool care kids, brighten up our local park with a beautiful mural, organise pizza and movie nights, plant trees in the park.  Representatives of the group attended meetings of other groups, lobbying for their beloved play equipment in the park which the local Council was planning to remove and replace.  The young people were respected in our community and really looked forward to their events, always looking for ways they could bring the community together.

There are so many ways for young people to get involved in volunteering - like the ones I've mentioned already in this post, but if this isn't for you, here are a few different ideas:

• Why not use your computer skills and help a community group design a website or put together their newsletter. 
• Offer to help someone learn to use their mobile phone or how to use Facebook - you'd be surprised how many older people really want to learn this new fangled stuff and would love some one on one tuition. 
• Love to cook?  How about breakfast clubs or social eating programs such as Eating With Friends, who are always looking for people to help out with cooking duties for community lunches. 
• Do you have a hobby?  Why not find a way to volunteer within that hobby?  There are lots of hobby clubs and societies who love to have an extra pair of hands involved and you'll be learning more about what you love. 

Why not visit www.volunteeringtas.org.au and find out what's out there.  Another great port of call would be your local LINC, youth centre or Community or Neighbourhood House or Centre.  They will be able to point you in the right direction to get you started.  You can find more information and contact details for some of these groups here.


Boessler, J. and Ding, B. (2010) Gen Y and Flexible Volunteering - a good practice guide. [report] Australian Youth Council, p.7.
SesameStreet (2010) YouTube - Sesame Street: Usher - Volunteer. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5cysG5M1PFA [Accessed: 22 Nov 2012].

Read more »

Your Passion, Our Nation Video Competition

 

I just love this video, which won the 18 to 25 years category in the "Your Passion, Our Nation" video competition.  The competition was to make a short video showcasing your passion for volunteering.  There were some very inspiring videos.

This video wasn't the overall winner, but I really like the message it conveys.  Check out the website http://volunteering.notforprofit.gov.au/ to see all the category winners and the overall winning video.

References:
Volunteering.notforprofit.gov.au (2012) Competition Winners | Volunteering Video Competition. [online] Available at: http://volunteering.notforprofit.gov.au/competition-winners [Accessed: 26 Nov 2012].

Read more »