Issue 2, March 2010

Remembering Mercedes 'Billie' Clarke and Marie Miner

Former CEO, Margaret Bell AM, and former staff member, Jan Cosgrove, remember two of The Centre's well-loved and missed volunteers: Mercedes 'Billie' Clarke and Marie Miner.

Volunteering for life: Mercedes 'Billie' Clarke
What could it mean to volunteer for life, does it mean volunteering throughout one's whole life, volunteering to gain more life, a more solid reason to get out of bed in the morning, or does it mean volunteering for the life of the other. Mercedes 'Billie' Clarke would have said "yes" to all three suggestions. Billie was a real trouper. She lived a full and exciting business career spanning twenty five years as company secretary for Sun-Alliance. They loved her and deeply regretted her eventual decision to retire… MORE

Remembering Marie Miner
Marie died very recently at 95. She and Billie were good friends and great volunteers together. Marie was an extremely competent personal assistant to New South Wales most senior police officers during her professional life. Her career culminating as personal assistant to Police Commissioner Avery during his period in office in that capacity. She received the Public Service Medal for remarkable service to the community and came to the then Volunteer Centre as the volunteer personal assistant to Heather Buck the first Executive Director of the Centre in 1979. She continued in this appointment when Margaret Bell became Executive Director and when a full time assistant was appointed remained as a volunteer support person to the Executive Director on a day a week basis until 1994. MORE

Requiescat in pace Billie and Marie.

March Networking Event: Understanding the National Standards for Involving Volunteers in Not-for-Profit Organisations

When: Tuesday, 16 March 2010, 2pm–4pm
Where: evel 2, 228 Pitt Street, Sydney 2000

The National Standards for Involving Volunteers in Not-For-Profit Organisations represent Volunteering Australia's benchmark for "best practice" in the management of volunteers. Participants will be able to make an informed decision regarding the implementation of the National Standards within their own organisations. The topics covered are:

• The importance and intent of the National Standards
• Developing an implementation plan
• Key issues and critical success factors to implementation
• Minimising obstacles to implementation

Numbers are limited, booking is essential. Email Odessa O'Brien to RSVP

Earth Hour: Saturday, 27 March 2010

With less than three weeks to go to Earth Hour, WWF-Australia is counting on businesses, organisations and community groups to sign-up and switch off! Getting involved is easy and is a great way to engage staff and stakeholders while taking your first step towards reducing your environmental footprint. MORE

April Networking Event: NFP fundraising – the do's and don'ts

When: Tuesday, 20 April 2010, 2pm–4pm
Where: Level 2, 228 Pitt Street, Sydney 2000

Join Communities NSW and the Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing's Richard Kerr, as he shares not-for-profit fundraising – do's and don'ts. This session is focussed at not-for-profit organisations that are plan to or are engaging in fundraising activities and need some assistance in making sure they are run correctly.

Richard led a very popular and successful fundraising Networking Event titled Involving young people: fundraising and keeping kids safe in your organisation in October 2009. The Centre received a lot of fabulous feedback on the discussion and many requests for a more focused session on Fundraising and the legalities and regulations which need to be adhered to. Don't miss this fantastic opportunity to learn from Richard's vast experience in the field.

Numbers are limited, booking is essential. Email Odessa O'Brien to RSVP

National Volunteer Week: 10–16 May 2010
Volunteering Australia (VA)

National Volunteer Week (NVW) is the largest celebration of volunteers and volunteerism in Australia, and provides an opportunity to highlight the role of volunteers in our communities and to say thank you to the more than 5 million Australians who volunteer.

The NVW website will provide you with all the information you need to celebrate NVW whether you are a volunteer, volunteer organisation, or a corporate organisation seeking ways to help recognise and thank employees who are also volunteers.

Visit the NVW website to find out more

2010 Ignite Volunteering Conference: "More hands… Now more than ever"

When: Friday, 21 May 2010, 9am–5pm
Where: Mechanics' School of Arts, 280 Pitt Street, Sydney
Format: Plenary sessions, sector networking, interactive workshops, case studies

The Centre for Volunteering's 2010 Ignite Volunteering Conference will focus on the development of skills for volunteer coordinators and managers in the community sector, and facilitate networking, collaborations and the sharing of resources.

Topics proposed for the conference include: Recruiting of volunteers, motivating and rewarding volunteers, succession planning, leadership, helping employees to work effectively with volunteers, training and supporting volunteers, social networking, maintaining standards, cultural inclusion and youth.

Want to attend? Please email conference@volunteering.com.au

New round of short courses launched

A new round of sector-specific short courses has been launched for 2010. They include the very popular public speaking course Speak Up! Speak Out! 1, and new Speaking with Impact for Board Members. For more information and to enrol visit the SVM website.

Certificate II in Active Volunteering now available

From 1 March, the Certificate II in Active Volunteering will be available. The delivery is similar to the Certificate I in Active Volunteering, that is, logbook based. The qualification has a total nine units of competency, three of which are within the Certificate I. For more information click on CAVII.

RPL Graduation Ceremony planned for 14 May

Last year, 50 participants were involved in a recognition (RPL) project, funded by DET NSW (COAG) RPL Skills Express – Industry Partnership Project. 30 people were successful in attaining the full Certificate I in Active Volunteering, seven people attained the full Diploma of Business and 11 people were successful in Statements of Attainment from the Business Diploma. To send these graduates off with a bang the Minister for Volunteering, the Hon. Peter Primrose MLC, will present the certificates in a graduation celebration on Friday, 14 May from 10am.

Low cost training for managers of volunteers

The School is awaiting news on further allocations for existing worker places in the NSW Productivity Places Program (PPP), which is part of the Australian Government's Skilling for the Future Initiative. A review is currently underway based on industry feedback. The review "will assist in the further development and improvement of the PPP and the rollout of the remaining 2010 allocations".

It means a boost of 175,000 funded qualifications for existing workers in NSW up to 2012 across industry priority areas, such as community services and health.

The Program allows successful applicants to enrol in either the Diploma of Business or Diploma of Management for only 50 percent of the normal course fee. Further information is available on the SVM website.

SVM now offers the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment (TAA40104) online

The School now offers the Cert IV in Training and Assessment in a range of flexible options, including the full qualification, the upgrade, and the very popular previously titled "Train Small Groups", all by Distance Learning, which includes tutor support and in some cases e-learning and virtual classrooms. All options are available at very competitive prices.

Organisations can arrange with the School for all options to be delivered face-to-face at their premises or another venue. This strategic initiative by the School will allow organisations to enhance their capacity by up-skilling its staff to deliver Registered Training Courses, for example, the Certificates I and II in Active Volunteering, in-house and in partnership with the School as the supporting Registered Training Organisation (RTO).

Further information is available on the SVM website or telephone Mark Tippett at the School on 02 9261 3600 (Wednesdays to Fridays).

Partner with the School to deliver registered training courses

Has your organisation considered partnering with the School to deliver Registered Training Courses for your staff and volunteers, allowing them to achieve nationally recognised qualifications, such as the Certificate I in Active Volunteering, in-house using your own resources? Find out how to partner with the School

Volunteer training and training resources

The School partners with selected organisations to promote their volunteer training and training resources they have developed. Find out more about what is available and how to promote your volunteer training and training resources through the School.

Managing corporate volunteers: positive relationship = positive outcomes
Third Sector – January 2010

In the January 2010 issue of Third Sector magazine, The Centre for Volunteering CEO Lynne Dalton discusses why corporate volunteering is gaining popularity, and gives some vital hints on how your organisation can make the most of corporate volunteers.

Despite the global financial crisis, corporate volunteering is becoming more popular among businesses that are committed to their corporate social responsibility (CSR) objectives. MORE

Rethinking volunteering
Inspire Foundation

Start engaging young people now – it'll pay off for you in the future! In this interview with Inspire Foundation, The Centre's youth volunteering guru Maia Giordano gives some fantastic, practical tips on how to get young people moving and shaking in your organisation. MORE

Reimbursement and Value of Volunteer Effort report
The Centre for Volunteering, March 2010

The latest research report from The Centre for Volunteering's Research and Policy team examines reimbursement of volunteers for their out-of-pocket expenses as well as assessing the value of a volunteers' effort in the not-for-profit sector of NSW. Volunteer effort is represented in monetary terms as hours of work comparative to an equivalent paid employee role in a similar style of organisation. MORE

A new addition to The Centre's family

The Centre's Jacinthe Brosseau gave birth to her second child, Manu Brosseau-Hogan, on Tuesday, 2 March at 1.04pm, weighting 7 pounds and being 51cm long. Congratulations to Jacinthe and Mark and their first child, son Remi.

New "hour" value of volunteer time
Pro Bono Australia

It's often said that the value of volunteering is immeasurable. However the US not-for-profit research group, the INDEPENDENT SECTOR has identified the dollar value of volunteering at an hourly rate to help quantify this community resource. The INDEPENDENT SECTOR says that the 2002 value of volunteer time has increased by nearly 50 cents an hour to $16.54 per hour. That's in US currency. So in today's Australian equivalent where the Aussie Dollar gets around 60 cents to the US dollar the hourly rate equates to a hefty $27.36 per hour! And according to researchers the value of volunteer time has increased by nearly 50 cents US on last year. (That's 30 cents Australian.) MORE

Ed – Please note the above currency rates were correct at time of research. Currently the Australian dollar is 85–90 cents to the US dollar, which decreases the value of volunteer time hourly rate to approximately $18.38–$19.46.

Productivity Commission's relevance to volunteering issues "Less clear"
Pro Bono Australia and Volunteering Victoria

Volunteering Victoria has responded to the Productivity Commission Report saying the report's relevance to the issues facing the volunteering community is less certain than for the rest of the not-for-profit (NFP) sector. Volunteering Victoria says while the Commission's recommendations will, if implemented, reshape the regulatory environment for NFP sector, they do not address the core issues of volunteering in Australia. MORE

Official signing of the National Compact: 17 March 2010
communityNet

The Australian Government has announced the launch of a new National Compact which aims to strengthen the working relationship between the Government and the not-for-profit sector at Parliament House on 17 March 2010. The Compact has been developed following extensive consultations between the Government and the sector, which are outlined in the National Compact Consultation Report. MORE

Volunteer Grants 2010: Call for applications
FaHCSIA

The Volunteer Grants 2010 Call for Applications opens on Friday, 12 March 2010 and closes on Friday, 16 April 2010, 2pm. Volunteer Grants 2010 has been extended to help organisations meet the costs of training and undertaking police and working with children checks for community volunteers. The Government is committed to helping non-profit organisations support their volunteers and develop their skills. Volunteers can undertake courses such as basic first aid, mental health first aid, and leadership training. MORE

New AYF discussion topic is Volunteering – have your say
The AYF has a new discussion forum on Volunteering. The Government would like your views on how we can inspire more young people to volunteer and how best to support you in your volunteering activities. HAVE YOUR SAY

Volunteer Link on YouTube

Volunteer Link, a Volunteer Centre in Sydney's St George and Sutherland Shire have posted a fabulouse video of people volunteering in the with a wide range of services, from rescue, support and assistance to communication and cultural activities on YouTube.

WATCH THE MOVIE ON YOUTUBE

© The Centre for Volunteering 2008 | ABN 28 002 416 024
Level 2, 228 Pitt St, Sydney NSW 2000 | T: 02 9261 3600 | F: 02 9261 4033
E: info@volunteering.com.au | W: www.volunteering.com.au | Unsubscribe |Privacy