The Voice of Volunteering, Issue no 5, June 2008

Nominations now open

The 2008 NSW Volunteer of the Year Award is a unique opportunity to recognise and publically acknowledge able work done by the hundreds of thousands volunteers in NSW. It showcases active volunteers who have shown dedication and initiative in their work and have positively contributed to your organisation.

Nominate your volunteers for the 2008 NSW Volunteer of the Year Award.

The 2008 NSW Volunteer of the Year Award was launched at Government House on Monday, 12 May 2008, coinciding with the launch of National Volunteer Week.

Movie ticket give-away: Ten Empty

Icon and The Centre for Volunteering are giving away 30 double passes to the preview screening of Ten Empty on Wednesday, 18 June 2008, 6:30pm at Dendy Newtown.

Ten Empty is directed by Anthony Hayes and written by Anthony Hayes and Brendan Cowell. It stars Daniel Frederiksen, Brendan Cowell, Jack Thompson, Lucy Bell, Tom Budge, Geoff Morrell and Blazey Best.

A decade ago, Elliot Christie ran away from home.  In that time, his father has married his late wife's sister, and his younger brother has fallen silent. This weekend, 29-year-old Elliot is to be Godfather to his new half-brother. Over the course of the weekend, emotions run high as the family secrets are exposed.

The first 30 people to email Kristin Romanis with their name, address, phone, email and the name of the organisation where they work will receive a double pass to the advanced screening of Ten Empty. Good luck.

Please note: Those who miss out on tickets this time will be offered tickets in future giveaways. Winners will receive a confirmation email.

Myth buster: Young people and insurance
Maia Giordano, The Centre for Volunteering

Many young people face barriers getting involved in volunteering due to organisations rejecting them on the basis of insurance. In fact, many insurance companies do not specify a bottom age limit in their Volunteer Workers Accident Insurance.

Insurance companies may require volunteers to be mature enough to assess risks and follow instructions in a volunteer environment. This attribute surely is more about competency than age. Young people as volunteers can bring with them maturity, enthusiasm and new ideas.

If you are still concerned about whether your insurance covers younger volunteers, email your insurance broker ahead of time to let them know the age, number, date(s) and tasks of the volunteers. Once they review the case and give you written approval, this extends your insurance to cover these activities.

So next time a young person enquires about volunteering with your organisation, check with your insurance company and consider giving young people a go!

Youth volunteers available for projects
Maia Giordano, The Centre for Volunteering

Do you have a current project or event coming up? Could you use the assistance of young people as volunteers? If so please let Maia Giordano know the project name, location, date, time(s) and how many volunteers you require. The Centre often receives enquiries from school groups or groups of young people which are keen to help out on a particular project or program. Hope to here from you soon! Email The Centre or phone 02 9261 3600.

Community insurance
Tony Frew, The Centre for Volunteering

NCOSS have demystified insurance for the not-for-profit sector through their guide What's it all about? A Guide for Not for Profit Organisations, which is available for download. The Guide includes fact sheets on

• How to compare insurance quotes
• Employee ownership and motor vehicle insurance
• Comprehensive car insurance
• Insurance purchasing errors

NCOSS have also put together a bulk-buying insurance program brokered through Aon Risk Services with special features for not-for-profit and human services organisations. To find out more visit www.ncoss.org.au/insurance/ or contact Hugh Worrall on 02 9211 2599 (Thursday/Friday).

20th World Volunteer Conference a tremendous success
International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE)

Some 400 people from over 40 countries in all regions of the world gathered in Panama City, Panama for the 20th IAVE World Volunteer Conference on April 2-5, 2008. The event saw Liz Burns step down as world president of IAVE having completed two terms in office, to be replaced by Dr. Kang Hyun Lee.

Read an except from Dr. Lee's plenary remarks at the World Conference.

Not-for-profit Networking Event: Employee Volunteering, making it work for your organisation
Tuesday, 17 June 2008, 3pm–5pm
Level 2, 228 Pitt St, Sydney

What are the benefits of Corporate Volunteering?
Need to brainstorm unique corporate volunteering activities?
Who will you approach to get the right corporate partner?

Corporate volunteering offers a unique form of volunteering opportunities for your organisation. This networking event will discuss the benefits and hurdles to overcome in the world of Corporate Volunteering. The recent launch and networking breakfast on EVP Guide and Toolkit was such a great success that we have had many organisations request a repeat of this event. This hands-on networking event will explore the opportunities unique to your organisation and the tools and framework required to successfully engage with the corporate sector.

Read the research report, Frontier of Opportunity: Critical Success Factors of Employee Volunteering Programs for the Small-to-Medium Not-for-Profit Sector . To view the Employee Volunteer Programs (EVP) Toolkit and Guide for not-for-profits that want to set up and manage their own EVPs log onto The Centre for Volunteering's Members-Only website.

RSVP today
All volunteer managers are very welcome to these events. Numbers are limited and booking is essential. Email Odessa O'Brien or phone 02 9261 3600 to RSVP. There is a cost of $10 to attend and breakfast will be provided.

Asia Pacific Volunteer Leadership Conference
The emerging role of volunteer management as an agent of change
16–19 September 2008
Hawaii Convention Centre, Honolulu

OzVPM is proud to be partnering with the Volunteer Resource Centre of Hawaii and Nurse Maude Society in New Zealand to co-present the first Asia Pacific Volunteer Leadership Conference. International presenters will include Susan Ellis, Linda Graff, Martin J Cowling, Betty Stalling and OzVPM's own Andy Fryar. To download the conference flyer and learn more details visit the www.ozvpm.com or email Andy Fryar.

12th National Conference on Volunteering: Catch the New Waves
3–5 September 2008
Radisson Resort Gold Coast, Queensland

Volunteering Australia invites you to attend the 12th National Conference on Volunteering, 3–5 September 2008, an event exploring the issues that affect the 5.4 million Australians who volunteer.

The theme for this year's conference is 'Catch the New Waves' which offers the opportunity to explore current and emerging trends in volunteering. Be a part of this key forum to highlight current and emerging trends in volunteering and to discuss their relevance to social inclusion, community capacity building and corporate social responsibility.
Find out more

SCIP/Youth Report
Maia Giordano, Youth Volunteer Program Manager

This has been a busy month for the Student Community Involvement Program. In late April, Maia Giordano spoke at the Volunteer Day at Penshurst Girls Georges River College for the Year 9 students. There were six organisations represented on the day.

On 2 May, Maia gave a talk to Year 11 students at Macarthur Girls High School. Students have an option to do volunteer as part of their work experience program. Maia is working with the career advisor to assist interested students in finding local volunteer opportunities.

On 6 May, Sydney Secondary College, Blackwattle Bay Campus launched their SCIP program for the Year 11 students as part of their career development opportunities. The SCIP Day was the largest for the year with over ten engaging and inspiring speakers represented by the following organisations: Animal Liberation, Australian Red Cross NSW, Brain Injury Association of NSW, Conservation Volunteers Australia, Inspire Foundation, Vision Australia and Student Volunteers International. Thank you to all the speakers for making the day such a success. Special thanks goes to guest speaker Amanda Grant, 2007 NSW Youth and Corporate Volunteer of the Year, who inspired students with her story.

On 8 May, Maia organised Muirfield High School's first SCIP Day for Year 11 students. Thanks to Heather Gleeson from Vision Australia and Liz Couch from Australlian Red Cross NSW for their interesting and engaging presentations.

During National Volunteer Week Maia took part in the first Volunteer Connect 2008 at UTS organised by Youth Challenge Australia on Wednesday, 14 May. Maia spoke to both students and staff about volunteering opportunities.

Maia would like to congratulate students from both Warilla High School and Kellyville High School for participation in The Centre's special Bridge to Volunteering at Parliament House on Thursday, 15 May. They demonstrated how young people from all backgrounds can make such a positive difference in their local communities.

On 20 May, Maia represented The Centre at the NSW Young Lawyers Association Volunteer Forum. The event aimed to give Law students and new graduates of Law information on volunteering. There was a lot of interest in our Volunteer Referral Service.

On 26 May, Maia spoke to Year 9 students at Pymble Ladies College as part of their community service program. Each week students either undertake community service or hear from a guest speaker from a range of community organisations.

Research Report
Tony Frew, Research & Policy Manager

CALD Project
The Centre's Research & Policy department has recently completed gathering information on the training, delegation of duties and retention of CALD (Culturally and Linguistically Diverse) volunteers by not-for-profit (NFP) organisations in NSW and the ACT. The focus of this survey is on CALD volunteers from non-English speaking backgrounds who are highly skilled but with insufficient English skills.

Approximately 25 per cent of volunteers in NSW have a CALD background and The Centre is seeking to identify how they are able to contribute their special skills for the benefit of the NFP sector.

The results will enable The Centre to categorise data with a view to formulating strategies for NFP organisations to best involve CALD volunteers. Another outcome of this research is to understand how to provide opportunities for CALD volunteers which maintain their skills and capability, achieve, learn about the Australian workplace and improve their English while they contribute to the organisation's aims.

Membership research project
Volunteers play an important role in the community and help to develop and strengthen social networks and cohesion. People can sharpen their skills, build confidence, enhance work experiences, meet new people and enter social networks through volunteering. In this way people get involved in their community and participate in a very wide spread Australian social network. As the peak body for volunteering in NSW, The Centre has undertaken another internally initiated project to:

1. Understand the total number of individual members of The Centre and their gender, age and skills.
2. Compare The Centre with other volunteering organisations in NSW.

This report will be released in the next issue of The Voice of Volunteering.

© 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 | W: www.volunteering.com.au
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