Dear Valued Members, Supporters and Friends,

Welcome to the May issue of The Voice of Volunteering.

2014 Ignite Volunteering Conference
We are only six weeks out from the annual Ignite Volunteering Conference and the program is shaping up to be very inspiring. Keynotes include John Peacock, General Manager, Associations Forum and Helen Rogers, Executive Director, NSW Office of Communities. The Concurrent sessions will have a practical focus and will range in topic from Youth Volunteering to Legal Issues to the latest research in volunteering. Register now!

Volunteer Management Program Funding
The Department of Social Services is holding an information session in Sydney on Friday 30 May regarding the new funding arrangements. The Centre will make available any updates as soon as they come to hand.

#SelflessSelfies
Don’t forget to encourage volunteers to take a selfie while they are volunteering and send it in to join the fun of our competition. Details appear later in The Voice.

Gemma Rygate

Applications are invited for the following position:
Director: Communications and Business Development

Director, Communications and Business Development Position Description (PDF)

Please send your cover letter addressing the selection criteria and your current CV, marked “Private and Confidential” to:

The CEO,
The Centre for Volunteering
Level 3,
40 Gloucester Street
The Rocks, NSW, 2000

or email: grygate@volunteering.com.au

Applications close 5pm, June 1 2014

From L to R: Jim Longley, Chief Executive, Ageing Disability and Home Care, Paula Duncan, AM, NSW Volunteer of the Year Awards Ambassador, The Hon, Victor Dominello, Gemma Rygate, CEO, The Centre for Volunteering, Nathan Barker, Head of Volunteering and Community Engagement at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Anthony Ball, CEO of ClubsNSW and Valerie Hoogstad, Board Chair, The Centre for Volunteering . Photo by: David Lefcovitch

The 2014 NSW Volunteer of the Year Awards were launched on Monday May 12 by The Centre with special guests, The Hon Victor Dominello Minister for Communities and Citizenship and Awards Ambassador, Paula Duncan, AM.

The NSW Volunteer of the Year Award program is an initiative of The Centre for Volunteering, the peak body for volunteering in NSW. Now in its eighth year, this state-wide Awards Program recognises and thanks volunteers in NSW who generously give more than 235 million work hours each year  and contribute an extraordinary $5 billion to the State’s economy.

The Awards promote the importance of volunteering to the community. Much of the success our state achieves would not be possible without the selfless work of volunteers across NSW. Sometimes volunteer work is as simple as sharing a cup of tea, however, without question, volunteers make a world of difference, particularly to the lives of some of our society’s most vulnerable people. For that reason, it is important that we not only are aware of volunteers’ work but that we also acknowledge it, recognise it, and reward them for their contributions.
The Awards Program is generously sponsored by the NSW Office of Communities and ClubsNSW, the industry body representing the state’s 1400 not-for-profit clubs.

Nominate your volunteers!

Awards Resources are available both as softcopy downloads and hard copy posters and postcards.

Obtain digital downloads

To request hardcopy posters and postcards please email Reem Abdelaty with your postal address and quantities required

The Centre participated in range of events and activities during the recent National Volunteer Week celebrations.

Highlights included:

Speaking at the Macarthur Diversity Services Initiative Ltd’s volunteer celebration and award ceremony about the power of volunteering and how volunteers are playing a positive role in helping specifically CALD communities in the Macarthur area.

Facilitating a workshop at the Auburn Career Pathways Expo. The Expo aims to provide targeted and personalised career advice for jobseekers in the Auburn area. The community there has many skilled migrants and humanitarian migrants who are looking for work in Australia and are just settling into the community so are interested in knowing how they can be involved. The workshop provided information on the benefits of volunteering, how volunteering can get experience that is valuable to an employer and how to find a volunteer role.

Attending The Factory Community Centre to speak at and open the Redfern & Waterloo Volunteer Awards.  These awards bring the local communities together in celebrating their wonderful volunteers.  This includes Public Housing Tenant Representatives from across the Inner City as well as local volunteer groups and people who give their time each week to various organisations and projects in the Redfern and Waterloo area and surrounding suburbs. General Manager, Tony Frew, spoke on the importance of volunteering and National Volunteer Week prior to opening the awards ceremony.  About 120 volunteers were presented with certificates of appreciation by Hon. Ron Hoenig MP, City of Sydney Councillor Irene Doutney, Dr Teresa Anderson Director for Sydney Local Health District and Redfern LAC Commander Luke Freudenstein.

The Centre recently faciliated, Viacommunity Day. The annual day of community service for Paramount Pictures, MTV and the Nickelodeon Channel, all part of the Viacom Company. The employee volunteerism and community outreach effort, begun by Viacom in 1995, benefits numerous schools, hospitals and charities around the world. It gives employees an opportunity to give back to their communities, while also having some fun in the process. The Centre assisted with placing teams at various community partners including an aged care facility, animal shelter, foreshore cleanup, makeover of adolescent facility and a charity shop.  Frieda and Wynne from Paramount Pictures said ‘We loved going to the aged care facility and were amazed by how caring and attentive the staff are to their residents’.

For more information on our Corporate Volunteering program, please email corporate@volunteering.com.au

Last year, we held a networking event on "How to get a corporate partner: a Toolkit". This interesting session, presented by Dr Chris Roffey from the University of Western Sydney, provoked discussion and posed further questions. One of these questions was around the key differences between "sponsorships" and "partnerships".

Date: Tuesday 17 June, 2014

Time: 2pm

Location: The Centre for Volunteering, Level 3, 40 Gloucester Street, The Rocks

Speaking on this topic will be Lillian Adnan, Formerly of Westmead Children's Hospital, and now with Life Education.

Lillian has always had a passion for being of service and supporting others.  After completing a Bachelor of Commerce in Management Marketing she has had an adventurous career. It began with publishing, business to business sales, consulting, living abroad as a flight attendant for 3 years and then finally finding her life’s passion in the ‘For Purpose’ Sector! The beginning of a Fundraising career started as Partnerships Manager at Guide Dogs Australia for four years followed by one year at Ronald McDonald House Westmead as Fundraising Manager.  Some areas of experience and specialty include:

Corporate Fundraising: Researching opportunities and helping formulate corporate strategy,  developing marketable products for sponsorship,  proposal formulation/writing,  developing prospect lists,  pitching (in all sales areas),  grants.  Over $1 million secured in national partnerships, $1.5 million in state based partnerships, and $300,000 with the club grants scheme

Also more recently Lillian has developed skills in change management, major events, individual donors/giving, collection programs and  integrating media, marketing and fundraising programs.

She believes education, networking and sharing is the key to being successful in the industry!  Qualifications include: Every possible qualification attainable in Corporate Fundraising including MDU, Pathways, Richard Woodward, Robyn Henderson and Cavill and Co. (Masterclass, Advanced Masterclass, and Heartsmart Toolkit – 10 month course graduating with honours) and currently undertaking a Certificate in Fundraising through the Fundraising Institute of Australia.

Register to attend

Are you a regional Volunteer Referral Service that has a program you want to highlight? Perhaps you have enountered a star volunteer that you'd like to recognise? 

If you have a piece of news or something you'd like to share, drop us a line. We'd love to highlight the valuable work that the regional Volunteer Referral Services are doing in their communities.

Initiated by Volunteering Queensland, National Student Volunteer Week (NSVW) aims to celebrate, encourage, enable and recognise student volunteering across Australia.
On the 4-10 August 2014, a wide variety of events, activities, forums and awareness-raising campaigns will take place nationwide in support, celebration and recognition of student volunteering.
Universities, schools, organisations, peak bodies and government are invited to take part in the week.
NSVW aims to recognise the substantial contribution of time, energy and skill made by student volunteers, and to encourage more meaningful and innovative student engagement.
For more info and to download promotional materials visit Volunteering QLD

The University of Western Sydney will be holding a Volunteer Fair on Tuesday 5 August at their Parramatta campus
.
If you are interested in having a stall to promote your organisation to students, please send an email to theacademy@uws.edu.au or call Caroline Allen, Volunteering Officer on 02 9678 7055.

Hidden Treasures acknowledges the important volunteer roles women play within NSW rural communities. It is not an award, but provides a platform to pay tribute to rural women volunteers who donate their time and energy to help others.
We hope the annual Honour Roll will improve recognition of the important and diverse roles women volunteers play as key participants within NSW rural communities and that their stories will encourage others to take on volunteering roles.
Nominating a rural woman for the Hidden Treasures Honour Roll is a great way to celebrate rural women from across New South Wales who give so much of their time to improving our communities and neighbourhoods.
You can nominate a friend, family member, colleague, community worker - any rural woman who you believe makes your community a better place to live.
To nominate a Hidden Treasures volunteer you simply need to complete the Nomination Form and tell us a short ‘story’ about why your nominee is worthy. All rural women nominated will be included in the Honour Roll.
NB: Nominations will only be accepted for NSW rural women. ‘Rural’ is defined as anyone living outside the larger metropolitan centres of Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong.
Nominations for the 2014 Honour Roll will open 1 May and close 16 July 2014.
For information or if you need assistance with your nomination call the Rural Women's Network on 02 6391 3620 or email: rural.women@dpi.nsw.gov.au

Child related workers and volunteers who are in the second industry sector to be phased-in to the new Working With Children Check system, are encouraged to start their online application process. 

Child-related workers and volunteers in the following groups need to obtain and provide their application or clearance number to their employer or relevant organisation to complete an online verification by 31 March 2015:

• Child development and family welfare services
• Religious services (work in roles including youth groups, youth camps, teaching children and child care)
• Residential services
• Transport services for children

Applicants should allow four weeks to receive their Working With Children Check results or longer if their application results in a risk assessment.

“The Office of the Children’s Guardian provides organisations that work with children free online tutorials and information sessions to help them understand what they should do to comply with the Working With Children Check.”

For more information and help with completing a new Working With Children Check go to www.newcheck.kids.nsw.gov.au or phone 02 9286 7219.

Are you still wanting to distribute recognition pins to your Volunteers?
Nothing says “thank you” like our beautifully designed lapel pins. These pins are an expression of an organisation's gratitude for the loyalty and dedication of volunteers powering our communities.

Call us on 02 9261 3600 to secure yours today.

Improve your confidence and public speaking skills with SpeakersBank’s Dale Rees-Bevan

Here’s an opportunity to focus on building professional skills and personal confidence. Maximise your public performance!

Learn:
• Impromptu and prepared speaking
• Overcoming nerves
• Top ten tips
• Performance sabotage
• Linguistic traits and delivery drawbacks
• Practice with feedback

Workshop has limited places: Enrol now at www.svm.edu.au – Other training/Short Courses

Date: Thursday, 31 July 2014

Time: 9:30am - 1:00pm

Cost: Workshop only $60 (plus GST) per person

Location: The Centre for Volunteering Level 3, 40 Gloucester Street, The Rocks 2000

Enrolments close 17 July 2014
 

IAVE Youth conference Update

IAVE  is excited to welcome to the Youth Conference as keynote speakers and presenters more than 20 of the greatest young volunteer leaders from across the world.

Delegates will have the opportunity to meet Raaida Mannaa IAVE Global Youth Project Leader from Latin America. Raaida a journalist, Producer, and compulsive life enthusiast has just returned from the World Economic Forum in Davos where she joined 50 "Shapers" representing the  global voice of Youth.

We also welcome Victoria Chock from Canada, who established a not for profit organisation at the age of 14 to promote and encourage local artists and their creative works of art.

Then there is Sam Johnson, motivated by the challenges of the terrifying earthquake in Christchurch New Zealand who founded the Student Volunteer Army movement. Sam is currently completing a law degree and continues to support his city as an Ambassador for Christchurch and a member of the Ministry of Awesome.

You will also meet Elliot Costello, home grown Australian and Founder and CEO of YGAP which inspires social entrepreneurs to end poverty. He has spear-headed four great social enterprises, Kinfolk Melbourne's first social enterprise cafe, Photo for Freedom, Feast of Merit, stayLITTE for kids, and a new restaurant in Richmond Victoria. He has been selected as a Global Youth leader to meet the Secretary-General of the UN, and was the Australian representative at the Nexus Global Youth Summit in New York last year.

A collection of #SelflessSelfies, both from the Centre and entries from our competition. To enter to win a $100 gift voucher and to be in the draw to win an iPad air, take your #selflessselfie and publish it on facebook, twitter or instagram and tag us to let us know.

Volunteernsw on Instagram

@Volunteers_NSW on Twitter

NSW Volunteer of the Year Award on Facebook