The Voice of Volunteering, Issue no 4, May 2007

Free night at the movies for National Volunteer Week

Be our guest at a special pre-release screening of "Romulus, My Father" on Wednesday, 16 May, 6.30pm at the Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace, Cremorne. Seats are limited so RSVP is essential. View invitation or RSVP.

Celebrate National Volunteer Week 07

Australia's 6.3 million volunteers are being celebrated during National Volunteer Week. Find out what's happening in NSW during National Volunteer Week.

Interview with Minister for Volunteering

The Centre for Volunteering spoke with the new NSW Minister for Volunteering, Linda Burney, about the Government's plans to enhance volunteering and support not-for-profit organisations across the State.

Find out what special policies the government is developing to increase the involvement of people with a culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) background in volunteering as well as the short-, medium- and long-term plans of her portfolio. Read more

Formalised volunteering and its impact on the aged sector
Alison Keene, The Centre for Volunteering

The Volunteer Referral Service recently received two worrying phone calls. Firstly, an elderly gentleman phoned to say that his flat had recently been repainted but he cannot move his furniture back into place. He does not know his neighbours and his family does not live nearby. He asked if we could send a volunteer to do this for him. Secondly, a woman whose sight is failing fast asked if a volunteer could come and read to her occasionally.

What are these phone calls telling us about the need for volunteers in the aged care sector? Read more

What is due diligence?
Jan Cosgrove, The Centre for Volunteering

Due diligence in civil litigation (also known as due care) is the effort made by an ordinarily prudent or reasonable party to avoid harm to another party. Failure to make this effort may be considered negligence. (Source: Wikipedia)

Find out how your organisation can provide a service that minimises risk.

Nominations open for AbaF Volunteering Awards
Australia Business Arts Foundation

The KPMG adviceBank Award is aimed at business volunteers who have helped achieve business outcomes for arts and cultural organisations. The award is open to all business volunteers who work with the arts, including adviceBank projects (excluding KPMG employees). Nominations close on Friday, 18 May 2007.
Find out more

Award for Excellence in Corporate Volunteering
Volunteering Australia & NAB

As part of the 2007 NAB Volunteer Awards, Volunteering Australia has introduced a new national award that recognises excellence in employer-supported volunteering programs. The award prize of $5,000 funded by NAB will be donated to the not-for-profit organisation of the winning organisation's choice. Nominations close on Friday, 8 June.

If your organisation has an employee volunteering program visit the Volunteering Australia website to submit an application.

Get your NAB Award nomination in today
Volunteering Australia & NAB

With less than 4 weeks remaining until entries close for the 2007 NAB Volunteer Awards, make sure to nominate your volunteer group today to share in over $200,000 in prize money. The 2007 NAB Volunteer Awards recognise best practice in volunteering. Nominations close on Friday, 8 June. Find out more

June Networking Breakfast Seminar – Evaluation practice in NSW not-for-profits
Tuesday, 19 June 2007, 8.30am–10.30am
Level 2, 228 Pitt Street, Sydney

This breakfast will be an opportunity for not-for-profit (NFP) organisations to talk about their current evaluation practice and the challenges. The breakfast will briefly identify resources available and the range of evaluation practices in NFP organisations. A report will be presented at the breakfast on a recent workshop run by the Australasian Evaluation Society. The breakfast will be facilitated by Dr Anton Mischewski, Research, Development and Policy Manager, The Centre for Volunteering. Participants will be organised into facilitated focus groups. Find out more

Numbers are limited. 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 Dr Anton Mischewski or phone him on 02 9261 3600.

School of Volunteer Management training news

Training for volunteers
SVM piloted the Certificate 1 in Active Volunteering (CAV) twice in March, firstly with Mosman Council volunteers on 26 March and then with a group of volunteers in Lismore on 30 March 2007. The training was delivered as a one-day workshop comprising five sessions covering the philosophy of volunteering, communication, policies, procedures and work practices. Students were encouraged to share ideas and their volunteering experiences through group discussions, reflection, case studies and small group activities. Find out more about CAV

Free job skills training
Do you want to update your business skills? Are there people volunteering with you who need to undertake some training? Are you eligible for free job skills training valued at up to $3,000 each? Find out more

Apply for a Diploma of Business scholarship
One full-time Diploma of Business scholarship worth $1500 is available free on application and is sponsored by Advanced Solutions International (ASI). There are also five half-fee scholarships available to full-time staff members in a not-for-profit organisation that is a current customer of ASI. Find out more

Asia Pacific IAVE Conference, 7–11 December 2007

The XI IAVE Asia Pacific Regional Volunteer Conference will be held from 7–11 December 2007 in Nagoya, Japan. The conference will feature four special forum sessions:

1. Senior Citizens Volunteering: Baby-boomer Generation
2. Corporate Volunteering: Corporate Social Responsibility
3. Large-scale Events Volunteer Management
4. Volunteering and Disaster Management

All details can be found on the conference website.

Australasian Evaluation Society Conference Think Tank

The Centre for Volunteering, in partnership with The Benevolent Society, will be presenting a Think Tank entitled Conducting evaluations of complex, multi-site programs in the not-for-profit sector at the Australasian Evaluation Society (AES) Conference in Melbourne, September 2007. The presentation will report on findings and discussions from the upcoming NSW AES workshop (16 May), The Centre's June Networking Breakfast and data from The Centre's questionnaire on not-for-profit issues which will be administered late June. Such an opportunity will give The Centre and The Benevolent Society a chance to put evaluation issues in the not-for-profit sector firmly on the national agenda.

The Centre celebrates its 500th member

The Centre for Volunteering would like to thank its 500th individual member Lyndon Reed, and organisation member Australian Business Arts Foundation (AbaF). Both will receive certificates from The Centre and free memberships for 2008/09.

Lyndon Reed is an employee of The Centre for Volunteering who has been diligently supporting The Centre's IT infrastructure for the past eight years. AbaF promotes private sector support for the arts by connecting business, the arts, donors and foundations through three programs: 1) partnering; 2) volunteering; and 3) giving.

New Zealand Report: Dr Anton Mischewski

Dr Anton Mischewski, Research, Development and Policy Manager, recently travelled to New Zealand, visiting volunteering organisations in Auckland, Wellington and his home town of New Plymouth. Read his report.

© The Centre for Volunteering 2007 | 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