The Voice of Volunteering, Issue no 10, November 2008

The Centre's Annual General Meeting and Christmas Party

Wednesday, 26 November 2008, 3pm (AGM) and 4pm (party)
Norman Selfe Room, Sydney Mechanics School of Arts,
Level 3, 280 Pitt Street, Sydney 2000

Please be our guest at The Centre for Volunteering's Annual General Meeting and Christmas Party. Download invite

We are delighted to have as a guest speaker Ms Margaret Bell, who will share with us her address to the National Conference on Volunteering recently held in Queensland by Volunteering Australia titled Towards Volunteering for the Future.

RSVP and more information
Please RSVP for catering purposes by Monday, 24 November 2008. Email Janine Cowen or phone 02 9261 3600.
  

Uni volunteers set to be slugged
The Australian

Joel Hohn spends his free time helping fellow students and tutoring disadvantaged children – but he must pay a $150 student union membership fee to be a registered volunteer. Next year he could be paying his university an additional $250, as a result of new compulsory fees for campus services. The 19-year-old photovoltaic engineering student paid to join Arc, the University of NSW student union, so that he could take advantage of the activities on offer. "If you don't join Arc, you can't volunteer for anything," he said. Read more
 

Work is becoming 'more intense' as Australians work some of the longest hours in the developed world
news.com.au

Australian are not only working some of the longest hours in the developed world, but as economic conditions tighten, they are increasingly finding their working hours are becoming more intense..."One of the casualties of longer work hours is that we don't do volunteering work.'' Read more
 

Bullying and harassment in the workplace: A guide for paid staff and volunteers
The Centre for Volunteering

The effects of bullying in the workplace should never be underestimated. The Centre for Volunteering's Advice Hot Line receives calls from both paid and unpaid workers asking what they can do to counter bullying in the workplace. Paid staff reporting they are being bullied by volunteers and volunteers that they are being bullied by paid staff. Fortunately this does not happen very often but when it does, the person phoning is always very upset. Read more
 

Volunteering and Social Activism: Pathways for participation in human development
CIVICUS

World Alliance for Citizen Participation, the International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE) and the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme have released a paper exploring how both volunteering and social activism are important strategies for fostering people's participation in social change and human development. It seeks to promote a shared understanding of how diverse forms of volunteerism contribute to the achievement of development objectives, and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in particular. Read more
 

Global Corporate Volunteer Council meeting report
Sarah Hayes, IAVE's Global Corporate Volunteer Council (E-IAVE, October 2008)

A little rain in Rio couldn't stop the representatives from seven international companies from sharing good practice, brainstorming new ideas for collaboration in the years ahead, and supporting one another's volunteer program goals. The fourth G-CVC meeting in two years was, as everyone agreed, the best yet! Participants were inspired and motivated to return to their companies armed with new ideas and reinforced support from fellow members. Additionally, the unusual weather allowed for members to bond together, enjoy one another's company and laugh a lot! Read more

Regional Award Ceremonies
Six Regional 2008 NSW Volunteer of the Year Award Ceremonies have taken place in the Central Coast, Murray, New England/Northern Inland, Northern Rivers, Riverina and Greater Western Sydney/Blue Mountains Regions. Congratulations to:

• Kirsten Hawkes, 2008 Central Coast Volunteer of the Year
• Selma Hunt, 2008 Central Coast Senior Volunteer of the Year
• Jean Dodd, 2008 Murray Volunteer of the Year
• Alan Jones, 2008 Murray Senior Volunteer of the Year
• Ian Ridley, 2008 New England/Northern Inland Volunteer of the Year
• Ronald Jillett, 2008 New England/Northern Inland Senior Volunteer of the Year
• Carol Logue, 2008 Northern Rivers Volunteer of the Year
• Lorna Allen, 2008 Northern Rivers Senior Volunteer of the Year
• Rick Firman, 2008 Riverina Volunteer of the Year
  
• Alice Norden, 2008 Riverina Senior Volunteer of the Year
• Robyn Yates, 2008 Sydney Greater West & Blue Mountains Volunteer of the Year
• Helen Arabzabem, 2008 Sydney Greater West & Blue Mountains Senior Volunteer of the Year
• Anthony Eden, 2008 Sydney Greater West & Blue Mountains Youth Volunteer of the Year
  

Winners for the remaining regions will be announced at ceremonies to be held throughout November. All nominees are recognised with a certificate. View the 2008 NSW Volunteer of the Year Award Nominees and winners on the Award Website.

2008 NSW Volunteer of the Year State Ceremony
The State Award winners will be announced on December 5, International Volunteer Day, at a Parliament House. 702 Breakfast Presenter Adam Spencer will MC the ceremony and Minister for Volunteering and Patron for the Award, the Hon. Graham West, will present the Awards.

2009 NSW Volunteer of the Year Award
As you can see from the above award winners there was a shortage of youth volunteers being nominated for the Award. If you have volunteers aged 15–25 working with you, please consider nominating them for the 2009 NSW Volunteer of the Year Award. Forms will be available early 2009.

Special Christmas NFP Networking Event: 2008 in review
Tuesday, 18 November 2008, 3–5pm
Level 2, 228 Pitt St, Sydney

Come and enjoy a special Christmas afternoon tea with volunteer managers from across Sydney and staff from The Centre for Volunteering. We will take a look at 2008: the highs and lows of your role and and any issues or highlights your volunteer team may of faced. This is a great opportunity to share with your peers and learn from their experience. In addition, we will look at planning for a successful 2009.

RSVP today
All volunteer managers are very welcome to these events. Numbers are limited and booking is essential. There is a cost of $5 to attend and afternoon tea will be provided. Email Odessa O'Brien or phone 02 9261 3600 to RSVP.
 

The Diploma of Business changes
The new Diploma of Business (BSB07) is now available and offers a wider range of subjects or units than was previously available.  However, you can still enrol in the existing diploma (BSB01) until February 2009 but conditions apply. Read more

Team of Bridge to Volunteering presenters expands
Four new highly skilled and experienced volunteers have joined the Bridge to Volunteering team of presenters.  Expansion of the team has been necessary due to the increased number of requests from organisations for the program to be conducted in-house. Read more
 

Over 350 activities for 2008 Anti Poverty Week: Report
Lynne Dalton, The Centre for Volunteering

From 12–18 October communities around NSW undertook activities to highlight Anti-Poverty Week. The objective of Anti Poverty Week is to raise awareness about the prevalence of poverty in our community and in order to explain the link between literacy and poverty an event entitled Paint the Town Read was held in Martin Place on Friday, 17 October. The event was organised by Rhonda Brain who invited community groups and children from Sydney schools to enjoy music and talks about the value of books and reading and why it is important to develop their literacy skills. The aim of the event was to bring together agencies which work towards the health and well being of our community. The Mayor of Sydney, Councillor Clover Moore, officially opened the event and special guests were Dawn Fardell, State Member for Dubbo and the Mayor of Parkes, Councillor Ken Keith.

Anti-Poverty Week was established in 2001 by the Social Justice Project at the University of New South Wales. It was inspired by the United Nations International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (October 17) but, in order to enhance the breadth, flexibility and profile of activities, it was expanded to include a full week. Many other countries undertake activities on the UN Day but, so far as is known, none has yet established an annual Anti-Poverty Week.  If you would like to be involved in Anti Poverty Week in 2009 please contact Lynne Dalton on 9261 3600.

SCIP/Youth volunteering report
Maia Giordano, Youth Volunteer Program Manager

On Wednesday, 1 October, The Centre's Youth Volunteer Program Manager, Maia Giordano and volunteer presenters Ben Hanckel and Angela O'Connell, ran youth volunteer workshops at the YAPA Youth Participation in Action Conference. The workshop covered volunteer definitions, rights and responsibilities and the process of finding volunteer opportunities. Students between the ages of 12 and 17 years came from rural and metropolitan New South Wales.

Mid-October, Maia was part of the Volunteer State Peak Bodies Youth Teleconference. It was attended by representatives from Volunteering Qld, Volunteering SA, Volunteering VIC and Volunteering WA. The teleconference was an opportunity to share information about current programs, developments, setbacks and opportunities to collaborate between the states for a more national approach.

Maia and Johl Storey, new Youth Programs Coordinator for Red Cross Western Sydney Area, gave an introductory presentation to Year 5 and 6 students at William Clarke College. The presentation forms part of their Community Service Program and will help students understand more about volunteering and how they can get involved.

Speaker profiles
For information on some of the organisations that support SCIP, check out the latest SCIP speaker profile that have been added to the Youth Volunteering section of The Centre website.

Youth Volunteer Calendar of Events
Right now schools are organising their schedules and programs from the 2009 school year. In order to assist them (and you) to be engaged in volunteering with their students send details of your events in advance!

If your organisation is interested in getting young people to volunteer at your events send an email to The Centre with the name, date, number of volunteer required, benefits and volunteer opportunities for your event. Look forward to hearing from you!

If you would like more information, please email The Centreor phone 9261 3600.
 

Volunteer Referral Service (VRS) Update

The Centre's VRS is currently seeking volunteers for the following roles:

• Social Visitors
• Car and Bus Drivers
• Bi-lingual Community Visitors 
• Gardeners
• Meals on Wheels

If you or any of your volunteers are interested in volunteering for these roles please contact the VRS.

If you would like to advertise your volunteer role with the VRS please complete the online Volunteer Job Description Form.

Volunteer Referral Service volunteers rule
John Forrest, VRS volunteer (written August 2008)

The numbers say it all! The Centre for Volunteering operates with just 10 paid staff and approximately 100 volunteers working every week. In The Centre's Volunteer Referral Service (VRS), the volunteer contribution is even more noticeable with two paid staff (one full-time and one part-timer) working with more than 35 volunteers each week*. These volunteers work between four and sixteen hours every week. They handle 5,000 enquiries each year from would-be volunteers and interview and match some 3,000 of them with not-for-profit volunteer roles! Read more

© 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
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