Surry Hills Festival organiser: Cathy Wills
By Tash Jayasinghe
For Cathy Wills, volunteering gave her a job in the festival scene and challenged her to use all of her skills. After moving to Surry Hills in 2006, Cathy did a quick internet search on volunteer roles in the area. The local neighbourhood centre was in the process of organising the Surry Hills Festival and the rest, as they say, is history. "It ended up that instead of just being a volunteer at the festival, I was given the role of recruiting and mobilising the entire team, which was an incredible privilege and heaps of fun," Cathy said.
"That was the beginning of the journey and whetted my appetite for being a part of mobilising volunteers for this type of festival event. Volunteering NSW were a great help in supplying volunteers for that event, as well as universities and tertiary institutions and my local church. Since that time, the opportunity has opened up for me as the festival director of the Surry Hills Festival, and I have also become part of the Newtown Festival team as the volunteer coordinator."
Her advice to first-time volunteers is to "find an event or a one-off volunteer role and get involved. Maybe start with a single shift, or a one-off time commitment, and see how it feels. And try and choose something that is as close to your skill set as possible."
"People might be concerned about fitting volunteering into their schedules – but I think that we can always find time for the things that are a priority for us. Once people realise that they have something significant to offer to their communities, I think that it gives a greater sense of motivation, and also a realisation that they have a genuinely valuable contribution to make."
It's the idea of giving back talents and skills to the community that keeps Cathy motivated. "I was also new to the suburb and keen to build a new network of relationships and the festival volunteer team ended up being a really fantastic group of individuals."
"I see such immense personal benefits for the people who volunteer. One of the primary benefits is the opportunity to build new friendships and to make contacts with a brand new social network."
"It's my observation that relationships can be a bit of a challenge to establish in a big city like Sydney, and volunteering provides an excellent opportunity to make some cool connections. Our festival volunteer teams are a great place for ongoing friendships to be formed – they are more of a community, rather than a set of individuals involved in an event."
Cathy claims volunteering can expand your skills and experience more than you realise. "Employers look seriously at volunteering as an indication of a person's commitment to personal development. I regularly have volunteers who work with me in the six months leading up to an event – they gain excellent skills through this experience."
Without volunteers from a wide array of professions, Cathy wouldn't be able to run these festivals. Often web designers, photographers, marketing and administrative people's work and time are invaluable. Chances are if you have a skill, she can use it. "It would be impossible to access this level of skill in the events that I coordinate, apart from the generosity of the volunteers involved."
If you feel like you have nothing to contribute, think again. "One of my favourite volunteer teams at our festivals is the Gold Coin collecting team. These teams have up to 40 people on them, and they work tirelessly at the entrance gates to the festival, receiving the Gold Coin donations as people enter the festival.
"I gain the greatest joy in seeing volunteers finish an event on such a high, usually extremely tired, but elated with the sense of personal contribution and investment. I also love seeing the network of relationships and connections emerge in the volunteering community that I'm involved in – people connecting with each other not just at the festivals and after parties, but also beginning to form additional social networks as a spin-off from their volunteering."
"I have the great privilege of helping two of Sydney's premier inner city festivals – the Surry Hills Festival and the Newtown Festival. Both of these festivals are amazing one-day events that attract 90,000 festival goers who come along for the live entertainment and the 250 market stalls, and to celebrate our funky inner city vibe. The festivals are primary fundraisers for their local neighbourhood centres and rely on the generosity of performers who volunteer their time along with approximately 100 volunteers who make up the staff on festival day.
More information
If you are interested in a one-off volunteer opportunity, Cathy would love to chat with you about volunteering for the next Surry Hills Festival www.surryhillsfestival.org.au in 2009. See also www.newtowncentre.org.
Cathy can be contacted on 0412 214 844 or email festival@surryhillsneighbourhoodcentre.org.au.
The Centre
for Volunteering [ABN 28 002 416 024]
Level 2, 228 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW 2000
T: 02 9261 3600 | F: 02 9261 4033 | E: info@volunteering.com.au
www.volunteering.com.au