Sister Marie Cantwell, Volunteer Support Coordinator, Uniting Care FOCUS on New Families
Who do you work for?
I work for Uniting Care FOCUS on New Families, an agency in the Campbelltown area which supports parents of firstborn infants. We endeavour to enhance and enrich the parenting experience for these families in ways that will assist the healthy growth and development of their infants. We have four programs in which we involve our volunteers according to their talents and, when possible, their choice.What does your job entail?
Our recruitment and training of volunteers is carried out by the manager and the recruitment and training officer. Once the volunteers graduate from our eight-week training program, they move from the supervision of the recruitment and training officer and come under my care. In collaboration with my manager, I place them into one of our four programs, and some onsite training ensues, some of which is conducted by the manager and some by me. I am responsible for the home visiting program, receiving referrals and placing suitable volunteers into these families where they visit on a weekly basis.I keep in touch with volunteers either by one-on-one meetings or by phone as they work in the various programs and particularly when they may be beginning in a new program. I supervise the volunteers in home visiting and support them as they come to know the family and work more closely with them. All my work is done in collaboration with the manager, who is aware of all clients and how they are progressing through the service.
Why and how did you become a volunteer manager?
I applied for the position of family worker and eventually, as our configuration of jobs changed, I had volunteer coordination added to my role.Please share some of the rewarding experiences you have had working with volunteers?
The most rewarding part of my work here is seeing how volunteers, both during the training and while working with us, build their knowledge base and their self-esteem. They also gain much insight into the community around them and make a very worthwhile contribution. Quite often, this then gives them the confidence to move into further study, gain paid work or to think again about a career they have wanted to take up.Another rewarding aspect of my work is seeing how families can change when the help that they need comes through a devoted volunteer at the time and in a way that helps them to turn their lives around.
Do you have any examples of innovative programs and ideas for working with your volunteers?
Our manager is very good at thinking up ideas for recognising volunteers and we try to do something regularly. Every second month we have a support meeting where we have an in-service topic which will give some enrichment to volunteers in their work such as baby massage or settling a disturbed baby. Sometimes we have a speaker from one of the services (e.g. Centrelink) that the volunteers have requested or we engage a presenter to bring some enrichment to our volunteers – such as aromatherapy, a crazy hat day or flower essences.The remainder of this meeting time is used for reviewing our programs and learning how and if volunteers are enjoying their work for FOCUS.
Also we try to acknowledge special days in the lives of our volunteers by sending them cards for events such as anniversaries, bereavements, sickness and birthdays.