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Newsletter July 2008 |
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Hi e-news member, Welcome to the July edition of our newsletter, there is something in the air here at VWA this month as 3 of our staff headed off on overseas holidays. Jennie is in the UK and Ireland for the next 4 weeks, Martha is off home to Canada for 3 weeks and Traci is touring the US for 6 weeks! Those of us left here in the office will be doing our best to cover in their absence (even if we are jealous).
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VWA membership renewalIt’s that time of year again, VWA memberships are due for renewal so keep an eye out for some paperwork heading your way this month. We do hope you find VWA membership of value and that you will happy to continue on. |
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Better Connections – Wheatbelt projectIn late June Janette Spencer, Senior Manager of Projects, and Denise Bertilone, Information Officer, travelled to Toodyay for the day for the first in a series of community meetings for VWA’s exciting new Wheatbelt Project (Better Connections). The project aims to identify the key issues in volunteering that are facing rural and remote community organisations. VWA will then be able to work with community groups to assist in developing and implementing strategies to make positive changes. In the morning session Dr Megan Paull, from ECU, held a meeting for newcomers to the Shire of Toodyay. This part of the project is designed to uncover the barriers to volunteering faced by any newcomers to regional areas. In the evening a meeting was held for community organisations. Facilitated by Janette and well attended the meeting aimed to engage volunteers, members and employees of community organisations in a discussion of the issues surrounding volunteering. A survey is available for completion by all of those involved in volunteer involving organisations throughout the Wheatbelt. This survey can be found on VWA’s website – www.volunteeringwa.org.au |
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Creating a Mentally Healthy WADid you know volunteering can improve your mental health? There seems to be something naturally satisfying about knowing you have made a difference by helping someone else. Volunteering increases knowledge and skills and improves social networks. These things all contribute to improved self-worth and confidence. Volunteering is being promoted by Mentally Healthy WA’s Act-Belong-Commit Campaign, which encourages everyone to take action to become more mentally healthy. Being a volunteer assist all three levels of the Act-Belong-Commit ethos. Volunteering assist us to get outdoors and be active; build good social networks and gain a sense of belonging through joining groups or clubs, and it helps us challenge ourselves and find meaning and purpose in the activities we engage in. Act: keep active in as many ways possible: physically; socially; and mentally. Read a book, take a walk, do a crossword puzzle. Belong: join in community activities; join a book club or walking group. Commit: take up a challenge; volunteer; and make a commitment to an interest or cause. For more information on the Act-Belong-Commit Campaign check out the website www.actbelongcommit.org.au or contact the Mentally Healthy WA office on 9266 1709 |
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Enhancing Access updateThe Enhancing Access team has been more successful than ever in the last few months. After re-structuring the project significantly, we have placed and supported 14 volunteers since February. These volunteers are making a difference in many organisations, including Citiplace Community Centre, WA Deaf Society, Brightwater Care Group, and the Salvation Army among others. We would like to thank these organisations for being open to new experiences and working toward inclusiveness in the sector. |
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How do you decide what’s a paid role and a volunteer role?An age old question is how to determine whether a role is for a volunteer or for a paid employee. There are no fast rules other than we all try to abide by the principles of best management practice. However, it's not always easy to decide which roles should be paid and which should be volunteer. Volunteering Australia would like to hear your views on this subject - how do you go about it? What are the signposts that you use to make a decision on roles? Do roles in your organisation change? Have you ever managed a role that swaps between volunteers and paid workers? Once a role is allocated to a paid worker, does it ever swap to being a role for a volunteer? Your information and ideas will help others wondering how to assign roles. To contribute your thoughts please go to the e forum on the VA website. |
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Early bird registration extensionAs you would be aware the 12th National Conference on Volunteering early bird registration offer was due to end in June. However VA have received many requests to extend the offer into the new financial year to allow for delegates who wish to attend but who need to draw the funding from their new budget. The early bird deal (save $100) is therefore extended to 10 July 2008 – no further extension is possible. The Conference, to be held on the Gold Coast, will be the event of the year for the voluntary sector. Please register now to make sure you don’t miss out on this special offer. This is the last chance for the early bird discount. www.volunteeringaustralia.org/conference |
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Visiting Volunteers updateThe Visiting Volunteers team has been pleased with the ongoing interest shown and the number of requests for volunteer projects in regional areas of WA. It seems ‘the word is getting around’ that volunteering during one’s travels can add tremendous personal value and interest to the whole experience, with the added benefit that memorable connections are made in those local communities.
In coming months, the Vis Vols team will be visiting most of the regions in the State to consolidate and expand upon the Program and to increase the number of volunteering opportunities. The first visit has just occurred with the Vis Vols team holding meetings with various government and community organisations in the Mid West Region. One of the places visited by Margaret on this trip was Greenough Hamlet which comprises eleven semi-restored stone buildings from the late 1800s and is located 25km south of Geraldton in the Mid West Region. The Visiting Volunteers’ artist-in-residence project provides accommodation at Greenough within the historic Hamlet. Ivan, one of our VWA volunteers, will be on the road for several months from the end of June, and will be heading North on the inland road - travelling to Broome - then returning via the coast. In addition to planned Vis Vols meetings, Ivan has agreed to undertake a voluntary audit of part of the Miners Pathway. This audit is to pilot a new initiative being established by the Mid West Development Commission. |
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Upcoming conferencesAlong with the 12th National Conference on Volunteering there are a few others we thought might be of interest to some of you. Men’s Advisory Network – 3-6 August
The Asia Pacific Volunteer Leadership Conference – 16-19 September
art at the heart – 3-5 October
Application forms are available at www.countryartswa.asn.au or by calling Country Arts WA on regional freecall 1800 811 883 or 08 9200 6200. It is recommended that you discuss your application with Project Officers Megan Roberts or Anita Field prior to completing the form to ensure you understand and properly address the funding criteria. |
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Volunteering on a visaThe Department of Immigration & Citizenship has been updating its website where it concerns volunteers, so listed below are links to the latest information. Generally speaking if a person’s visa allows them to do paid work then they would automatically be able to volunteer. The only visas that need checking are those visas where paid work is not allowed.
Many thanks to Annette at Volunteering Australia for the information. |
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Community Service/Service Learning in the United States: what can we learn?Free public lecture by Shelley Billig. An invitation has been extended to all VWA members by the Department of Education and Training to attend this free lecture. You may find this of interest if you currently involve or are thinking of involving students in your organisation through the Community Service Program. The lecture will give an overview of developments in community service/service-learning in the United States and present evidence of the impact of these programs in a range of contexts, including contexts where programs are compulsory. The lecture will present the findings of several new studies that are positive about the impact of mandatory service along with other research and quality indicators. There will be time for questions and discussion at the end of the lecture. Date: Thursday 24 July 2008 |
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Is the rising cost of gas a crisis or an opportunity for volunteering?Here is a thought provoking article from Susan J Ellis giving her take on the situation. Although it is American based we all know the cost of petrol is rising here too! This article is also available as a podcast - www.energizeinc.com/hot/2008/08june.html |
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Welcome to new members:
We look forward to working with you… |
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Farewell to Ellen and Joanne
Ellen joined VWA in Nov 2005 (newly arrived from Maine, USA) as our Membership Services Officer and by July 06 was promoted to Core Services Senior Manager. In July 07 Ellen was appointed as the Senior Manager Operations and Deputy CEO. Such a fast progression in the organisation is testament to Ellen’s management and organisational development skills. She will leave BIG shoes to fill! VWA wishes her every happiness in her new home state.
We wish Joanne all the best with her future endeavours, especially the many other community groups with which she shares her passion and enthusiasm. Ellen and Joanne’s departure, as well as outcomes from the recent operational planning process, have signalled the need for slight changes to the organisational structure. We will finalise the role changes soon - stayed tuned to the next newsletter (or the staff pages on the website) for more information! |
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July’s hot resource tip!
VIRA is a volunteer management database that will allow volunteer involving agencies to collect important information about their volunteers. Information such as personal details, volunteer contribution in hours and services provided, recognition, reimbursement and training that has been undertaken can all be recorded in a user-friendly format. VIRA has been developed for use by Coordinators of Volunteers to assist in the management and recording of information concerning volunteers. Information may be recorded daily, weekly or monthly, depending on the preference of the Coordinator. The database is designed in a simple format for ease of use and reports can be produced from this database. These reports may be useful both internally and externally for management committees, for funding submissions, as a tool for agency strategic planning and to provide feedback to funding bodies. VWA Members - $55 (inc GST) For more information or to purchase a copy of VIRA please contact Jen Patience on 9482 4333 or email jen@volunteeringwa.org.au. |
The 2nd National Conference of the Men’s Advisory Network (MAN) will be held from 3-6 August 2008 at the Fremantle Esplanade Hotel. The conference theme is “From babies to blokes: the making of men”and the conference aims to serve as a catalyst for a shift in men’s culture, which is seen as a necessary step to improving the wellbeing of the whole community. Full details of the conference are available at: 
Inspiring Journeys to Service - this conference will address issues in volunteer management, disaster readiness and recovery, opportunities for the aging, and pathways to peace and service. The conference will be held at the Hawai`i Convention Centre in Honolulu. More details at 
Country Arts WA is keen to see as many people as possible from regional WA participate in the Regional Arts Australia national conference ‘art at the heart’ in Alice Springs this October. As a result, Country Arts WA is offering funding to subsise the cost of attending the conference for West Australian regionally-based arts volunteers.
It is with sadness that VWA announces the imminent departure of our Deputy CEO and Senior Manager of Core Services Ellen Conner. Ellen is leaving Western Australia to move to sunny Queensland where she hopes to put her experiences gained at VWA to good use.
We are also sorry to say good-bye to Joanne Pollard, currently our Volunteer Services Coordinator. Joanne was first hired in June 2007 as the Office Manager, and in early 2008 changed roles to support VWA volunteers in the West Perth office. Joanne has done a great job with updating and consolidating volunteer policies and procedures, as well as ensuring our office volunteers are well-supported and looked after. 
Volunteer Information Records Administrator, or VIRA, has been developed to assist in recording volunteer contribution. VIRA is here to make recording volunteer information more accurate and time efficient, so that more time can be spent on other management tasks.This message has been sent because you are registered with Volunteering WA. If you wish to be removed from this mailing list, you could unsubscribe or you can email info@volunteeringwa.org.au or phone 9482 4333.
The information and materials presented in this newsletter and at the web site are distributed by Volunteering Western Australia as an information source only. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the information, no guarantee is given nor responsibility taken by Volunteering Western Australia for errors or omissions.
