Note from the CEO
Welcome to the August edition of the volunteering sector news. This month we acknowledged the incredible impact student volunteers make in our communities by celebrating National Student Volunteer Week (8-14 August).
I was proud to see our Western Australian universities getting behind the week and participating in WA’s inter-university volunteering activity, as well as hosting a huge range of volunteering activities throughout the week. I had the privilege of presenting on the UWA Careers Panel, and helping to plant seedlings at Leighton Beach with the Hon Stephen Dawson MLC Minister for Volunteering, Perth NRM, and students from UWA Guild Volunteering, Curtin Volunteers! and Notre Dame Volunteer Network. Thank you to the 200,000+ young West Aussies who make incredible impact through volunteering.
Youth volunteering has a ripple effect. Young volunteers donate their time to WA community groups > which supports clients and beneficiaries > and the organisation plays a part in creating a new generation of empathetic, giving, leaders. Our YVolunteer program assists young people aged 15 to 24 years to prepare for and engage in volunteering opportunities, and provides tips to organisations interested in working with young volunteers. If your organisation is keen to attract and retain young volunteers I’d urge you to register of our FREE online workshop – 11 October.
I’m pleased to present the Discovery Insights Report for the National Volunteering Strategy, summarising feedback from over 400 stakeholders over the last three months. WA had the highest participation rate in the survey and I’d like to thank everyone who took the time to respond. The report reflects the views of key stakeholders and clearly articulates and confirms the challenges and opportunities the volunteering sector experiences on a daily basis. The aim of the project is to deliver a National Strategy owned by the volunteering ecosystem that will provide a blueprint for a reimagined future for volunteering in Australia. I would like to invite members and volunteers to participate in our Perth and Peel visioning workshops – detail below.
Volunteering WA's in-person Annual General Meeting will be held on Wednesday 19 October, and I would like to extend an invitation for members to attend. Further details below. We hope you can join us.
Happy volunteering,
Tina
SECTOR NEWS
Has COVID-19 cleaning cost your organisation? Apply for a cleaning reimbursement
COVID-19 has taken a financial toll on community service organisations, but the Cleaning Reimbursement Scheme may go some way in alleviating this.
Community service organisations funded by the State Government can apply for reimbursement for additional cleaning costs incurred, after a positive COVID-19 case.
The State Government has provided $1 million of funding for WACOSS to allocate to state-funded community service organisations for additional cleaning costs incurred in preventing or stopping the spread of COVID-19.
The application process is simple and online. There's little paperwork involved, and organisations are reimbursed within two weeks.
Claims can be back-dated to 1 January 2022 | You can apply for the grant multiple times - there is no limit
Volunteering in the news
The key topic for volunteering media this month has been National Student Volunteer Week showcasing the fantastic young volunteers across Australia; as well as the declining volunteering rates we've been seeing for the past several years.
- The West Australian | Perth creative agency launches new gamify strategy, Volunteering WA, RAC and St John first organisations to trial
- Bunbury Mail | Volunteering WA Grant enables Volunteer South West to embark on new program
- ABC Australia | Volunteering in decline - TV segment and online article
- ABC Radio Perth | Tina chatted with Geoff Hutchison
- ABC Great Southern | Feature on Denmark Scout leader Beth Franz (radio and online)
- Volunteering WA on 89.7fm
- Channel Ten attended our Interuniversity challenge as part of Student Volunteer Week
- PerthNow Zest for Life - Article on volunteering for over 55s
National Strategy for Volunteering - Discovery Insights Report Published
Over the past year Volunteering Australia has been leading the development of the first National Strategy for Volunteering in a decade. The first half of 2022 focused on talking to stakeholders from across the volunteering ecosystem about the current state of volunteering, pressing challenges, and aspirations for the future.
These consultations have culminated in a Discovery Insights Report, which synthesises the themes that emerged and identifies opportunities for exploration.
Visioning Workshops | Peel and Perth *RSVP
Register to attend one of the Visioning Workshops taking place across Western Australia for the National Strategy for Volunteering project.
The workshops are designed for everyone – volunteers, managers of volunteers, community leaders, people who work in local, state, or federal government, people who volunteer through their workplace, people who benefit from volunteering, and people who aren't currently volunteering.
The workshops will take a participatory design approach, which means there is a capacity limit. For this reason, please only register if you are able to attend in person. If you find you’re unable to attend after registering, please contact the National Strategy team as soon as possible so they can make your ticket available to someone else.
Can't make an in-person workshop? There will also be online workshops and more information will be available soon.
PEEL Visioning Workshop
Date: Tue 27th Sep 2022
Time: 9:30 am - 12:00 pm AWST
Venue: Meadow Spring Sporting Facility, Mandurah
Register here
PERTH Visioning Workshop
Date: Wed 28th Sep 2022
Time: 9:30am - 12:00pm AWST
Venue: TBC,
Perth metro
Register here
Project-based Grant Program Recipients Announced
The Volunteer Management Activity project-based grant is funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services and administered by Volunteering WA.
Volunteering WA is pleased to announce seven (7) successful project-based grants provided in Western Australia for the 2022-23 year.
- Befriend Inc
- Peel Volunteer Resource Centre
- Volunteer South West
- Multicultural Services Centre of WA
- Fair Game
- Teach Learn Grow
- Town Team Movement
These projects aim to demonstrate and share new ways of engaging with a diverse and inclusive range of volunteers.
Save the date: Volunteer recognition dates
2022
- 5 November, International Volunteer Managers Day
- Tickets on sale soon | 1 December, Annual Volunteer Day Garden Party, lower gardens Government House
- 5 December, International Volunteer Day (celebrated worldwide)
2023
- January, Nominations open for the WA Volunteer of the Year Awards
- 15 - 21 May, National Volunteer Week
- 18 May, WA Volunteer of the Year Awards gala dinner
- 7 - 13 August, National Student Volunteer Week
Volunteering WA News
Making your digital assets accessible
Understanding how your website, electronic documents, and enewsletters are viewed and accessed by people with disability can be challenging. Volunteering WA was lucky enough to host a three-part workshop with Dr Scott Hollier from the Centre for Accessibility over the month of August.
- 17.7 per cent of Australians have some form of permanent disability (ABS 2019) so it makes sense to consider your website’s accessibility.
Those with a disability often use assistive technology to navigate the internet, including a screen reader, a text-to-speech application that reads out computer and web-related information, or a screen magnifier for enlarging content.
Scott was an engaging presenter who made this complex area accessible for all participants. If you want to know more, he suggests watching the WCAG Theme song for some light-hearted fun. Otherwise, you can find him at the Centre for Accessibility.
Volunteering WA Annual General Meeting
Volunteering WA [Volunteer Centre of WA Inc.] will be holding its Annual General Meeting in person on Wednesday 19 October 2022 at 3.00pm at Bankwest Place, 300 Murray Street Perth WA 6000.
We extend a warm welcome to all our members and representatives from the volunteer sector, State and local Government, partners and corporate supporters, volunteers and members of the community to join us for the meeting.
Please RSVP through the Volunteering WA website.
When was the last time you reviewed the National Standards for Volunteer Involvement?
The National Standards for Volunteer Involvement were developed in consultation with the volunteering sector across Australia and provide a sound framework for supporting volunteer involving organisations.
There are eight (8) Standards addressing the key areas of volunteer involvement:
- Leadership and management
- Commitment to volunteer involvement
- Volunteer roles
- Recruitment and selection
- Support and development
- Workplace safety and wellbeing
- Volunteer recognition
- Quality management and continuous improvement
Workshops and professional development for volunteer managers
Where noted, the following workshops are subsidised by Volunteering WA and offered free for a limited time thanks to funding from the Australian Government Department of Social Services.
September 2022
- Tuesday 6 | *Free* Designing Volunteer Roles and Position Descriptions
- Monday 12 | Meeting: Volunteer Managers Network (open to VWA members)
- Thursday 15 | Making the most of your Volunteering WA members (for new members)
- Tuesday 20 | *Free* Building a Volunteer Engagement Plan
- Thursday 22 | LGBTQIA+ Diversity, facilitated by SHQ Sexual Health Quarters
Spaces are limited, register soon to avoid disappointment - see all upcoming training. Subscribe to the new training alerts email for reminders on upcoming development opportunities.
Introducing VIKTOR Lite
A simplified, cleaner, user-friendly update to VIKTOR, Australia's volunteer position advertiser.
VIKTOR Lite is now live and Volunteering WA has begun moving current users over to the update system - If you are using VIKTOR for recruitment and want to switch to VIKTOR Lite, email support with the request and we’ll upgrade your account as soon as possible.
VIKTOR Lite is an improved position management system constructed around a single-page position form. It has improved filtering options, the status of each position is made more obvious, and the user is given clear feedback on what actions should be taken.
User-guides and video tutorials are in development and will be available in VIKTOR Lite.
Welcome new and renewing members
Volunteer involving organisations can enjoy the benefits of membership, including significant training and events discounts. Find out more.
Clubs WA
Clubs WA is the not-for-profit industry association for licensed and community clubs in Western Australia. We support the largely volunteer managed club industry with advocacy, compliance assistance, general advice, information, recognition and networking.
"As a peak body industry body ourselves, Clubs WA understands the importance of having a focal organisation to advocate on behalf of the industry. Volunteering WA provides the much needed support for volunteering organisations to support our volunteers and improve our volunteering culture."
"Clubs WA has found many wonderful volunteers through our membership with Volunteering WA, including most recently a volunteer from the Eastern States who is assisting us remotely. We have also been lucky enough to have engaged Skilled Based Volunteers through Volunteering WA to assist with projects on membership analysis and developing a risk management matrix for the industry."
Karen Giles | Chief Executive Officer, Clubs WA
www.volunteeringwa.org.au | 08 9482 4333 | info@volunteeringwa.org.au
Volunteering WA empowers people and communities to enrich Western Australia.
