August 2006

In This Issue

- Features              - Events & Training              - The Centre's News

The Centre for Volunteering's 2006 Membership Report
[The Centre for Volunteering]

A survey was sent to members of The Centre for Volunteering in late 2005 and enabled us to obtain feedback about the status of our members, the services they used, what they most valued about The Centre and what areas they thought could be improved. This provided relevant information about how we are conducting our role as the state's peak body for volunteering organisations.

Read our 2006 Membership Report.

Census: Are we a nation of volunteers?
[The Centre for Volunteering and Volunteering Australia]

For the first time, last night's Australian census featured a question on volunteering. Question 51 on the National Census will try to build a picture of volunteering during the last 12 months. This timely question in the census highlights the importance of this crucial individual and community activity.

Volunteering Australia's CEO, Sha Cordingley, a member of the 2006 Census Working Group, encourages everyone who freely chose to volunteer in the past year (including corporate or employee volunteers, young people, supporting parents and people receiving pensions or government benefits) to answer 'yes' to Question 51. MORE

The Centre for Volunteering Members Breakfast Forum
Tuesday, 15 August 2006, 9am–10.30am

Join us for our regular Members Breakfast Forum held monthly at The Centre for Volunteering, Level 2, 228 Pitt Street (between Park and Market Streets), Sydney.

This month, Penny York, trainer in the School of Volunteer Management (SVM), will give a brief preview and lead a discussion on the workshop Strategic Planning. This workshop equips managers in civil society organisations with the skills and knowledge to plan their programs. It covers setting a mission, challenge and change, client expectations, strategic objectives, action plans and measuring performance. Penny has a strong background in course development and business management. Her work in training volunteers in a range of programs brings a valuable contribution to understanding the needs of volunteers in the workplace.

It is essential that you RSVP to attend and order breakfast in advance. Breakfast costs $5 and includes fruit salad, raisin toast and muffins. Tea and coffee are free.

- Email Alison Keene or phone 02 9261 3600.
- Mark your calendar with the dates of our 2006 Breakfast Forums.

You must be a member of The Centre for Volunteering to attend. Download our
membership brochure or phone our membership team on 02 9261 3600 for more information.

SVM Workshop: Legally Speaking (2 days)
Wednesday–Thursday, 23–24 August, 9am–5pm

If you are a manager of volunteers or a management committee member or a policy taskforce member, you need to learn about the legal and technical issues involved in working with volunteers.

- Find out more about Legally Speaking.
- Enrol online to attend the Legally Speaking workshop.

SVM Workshop: Train Small Groups (2 days)
Tuesday–Wednesday, 5–6 September 2006, 9am–5pm

This workshop provides information on the latest methods of preparing, delivering and evaluating training in the workplace and will help you discover your own skills as a trainer. It is ideal for anyone who trains small groups in their own organisation.

- Find out more about Train Small Groups.
- Enrol online to attend the Train Small Groups workshop.

SVM Workshop: Submission Writing (1 day)
Wednesday, 13 September 2006, 9am–5pm

This workshop assists management committee members, general managers and managers of volunteers to prepare successful funding submissions and write effective reports. This is an interactive workshop designed to help you with planning and writing your submissions.

- Find out more about Submission Writing.
- Enrol online to attend the Submission Writing workshop.

- View the School of Volunteer Management's course calendar.

SPECIAL EVENT: JUST 6 DAYS TO GO, DON'T MISS OUT
Effective volunteer management: Mobilising all your resources
Monday, 14 August

The School of Volunteer Management is proud to partner with two volunteer management training organisations, OzVPM and People First – Total Solutions, for the Sydney date of their National Volunteer Management Training Series in 2006. US trainer and author Rick Lynch will present Effective Volunteer Management: Mobilising All Your Resources and help you understand how to expand your volunteer program.

The day will cover:

• the four elements of jobs that are intrinsically motivating
• how to really measure the impact of volunteer activity
• how to stop micromanaging your volunteers
• how to talk to volunteers who fail to meet your standard.

- Register online to attend.

New SAS Team Package
The Special Administration Services (SAS) team is now available to carry out one-off bulk mail handling and distribution for members of The Centre. We have recently restructured this service on a pay-for-usage basis. Members can now estimate their use from the following:

• 1–50 hours per annum
• 51–200 hours per annum
• 201–500 hours per annum
• Over 500 hours per annum.

For details about price, phone our Membership Department on 9261 3600.

Successfully judged NSW entries for NAB Volunteer Awards
The Centre for Volunteering would like to thank the 32 volunteers, volunteer managers and The Centre staff who volunteered their time to help in the first round of judging of the 398 NSW entries for the 2006 National Australia Bank Volunteer Awards. We were privileged to be involved and we were all constantly inspired by the high standard of programs being run by not-for-profits throughout NSW. Winners will be announced in late September.

Women's Settlement Experience Conference
In late June Jacinthe Brosseau, community project manager, attended the Women’s Settlement Experience – Challenges and Opportunities – Conference organised by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs. The conference focused on health, employment, domestic violence, leadership, isolation and women at risk. The role that both volunteering and The Centre for Volunteering can play in addressing some of the issues faced by women during settlement was presented and was well received.

Sydney Olympic Volunteers part of Where Are They Now studio audience
On 21 July, volunteers from the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games became part of the Seven Network's Where Are They Now studio audience. "The Sydney 2000 reunion was a great success, and as usual the 'Ollie Vollies' came with great energy, grace and patience. They provided energy and colour in spades, and really reminded us all of their fervour and contribution to the games," said the Seven Network's Ziggy Grant. View the photo gallery.

Project Updates

Volunteers and the Law: Legal needs survey
Our Volunteers and the Law team has begun conducting the legal needs survey Legal Issues of the NSW Volunteering Sector. The survey, comprising 20 questions, is targeted at not-for-profit organisations and is being managed by Dr Anton Mischewski, Research & Policy Manager. Ten volunteer interviewers have completed 70 surveys so far and will complete 200 by the end of August.

An emerging issue from the survey is that while there is legal information on volunteering available to not-for-profit organisations, few people have specialised knowledge on this subject and it is very difficult getting clear answers because much of the law has not been tested in court.

Student Community Involvement Program (SCIP)
June and July were busy months for the SCIP team. The team met with the NSW Department of Education's Director of Student Welfare to discuss SCIP and our Future Visions 4x5 Young Filmmakers Competition which we ran in 2005. SCIP also visited Amnesty International NSW and various other not-for-profit organisations to discuss involving students and young people in the organisations, and advised two schools on how to develop a student community involvement program and find volunteering opportunities for the students. In addition, the team presented two Community Education Days in schools in July and two more will be held in August.

Volunteering Makes a Difference (VMAD)
The Centre's Volunteering Makes a Difference program has moved into the most exciting phase of the project – hands on work with our young people at risk. The VMAD team has developed orientation and matching sessions for the young people to introduce them to volunteering and match them with potential volunteer work and organisations.

We have been working to increase the number of not-for-profit organisations involved in the pilot program resulting in the participation of five new organisations. All of the organisations participating in the pilot program are offering the young people exciting volunteering opportunities.
 
We also met with the coordinator of the Youth Off the Streets mentoring program to discuss the development of an appropriate mentoring strategy for our pilot program. The relationship we have developed with Youth Off the Streets has led to The Centre for Volunteering being asked to co-present with YOTS the findings from the projects at a Service Learning conference in Sydney in April 2007.

Staff

Welcome: Alison Keene, Volunteer Services Coordinator
The Centre for Volunteering welcomes the latest addition, Alison Keene, to our team. Alison has been involved with not-for-profit organisations for most of her working life, and most recently worked for Barnardos Australia in assessment, training and support of foster carers.  She is about to complete a Masters in Dispute Resolution. (Of course, she won't need to exercise those skills in her new job …) In her spare time, Alison is a foster carer and sings with the Sydney Philharmonia Motet Choir. She and her partner have two sons in their late teens.

Copyright © 2006 The Centre for Volunteering | 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
www.volunteering.com.au
Unsubscribe | Update Your Details | Privacy