Newsletter February 2010
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Hi e-news member,
Welcome to the February edition of our newsletter. This is our first newsletter for the year
and we hope that our members and volunteers everywhere had an enjoyable festive season.
- Upcoming training
- National Volunteer Week - free promotional items
- Job Service Provider forum
- Volunteering WA wins award
- Congratulations to...
- Youth and corporate volunteer positions sought
- Research update
- Making it fair report
- Treasurer's Awards - open now
- Corporate Corner
- Welcome to new members...
- February’s hot resource tip!
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 Upcoming training
Managing the Older Volunteer -
9 March 2010
Facilitated by Dr Megan Paull This workshop will be an interactive session exploring current issues relating to the management of older volunteers, drawn from shared ideas and experiences of participants. Come along and be part of the discussion – share your successes and challenges with regard to working with older volunteers.
Fees apply, for more information see the training section of our website. Please register your interest for this session by Monday 15 February by
contacting Martha on 9482 4310 or martha@volunteeringwa.org.au.
Building a 21 st Century Volunteer Program -
23 March 2010
Facilitated by: Jayne Cravens
Volunteering WA is thrilled to be hosting Jayne Cravens as this year's international speaker. Jayne is an internationally-recognised professional in the management of nonprofit organisations, specialising in public relations and volunteer management. She will be presenting an all-day session at City West Lotteries House on 23 March 2010. Please ‘save the date,' and stay tuned for more information. |
 National Volunteer Week - free promotional items
National Volunteer Week (NVW) is the largest celebration of volunteers and volunteerism in Australia, and provides an opportunity to highlight the role of volunteers in our communities and to say thank you to the more than 5 million Australians who volunteer. National Volunteer Week takes place 10 - 16 May 2010.  Free promotional items are available to order from the Volunteering Australia website using their Shopping Cart. Ordering is open now and closes 16 February 2010 at 4pm (Eastern time). You can order up to 200 posters and 50 postcards
for free. There is a limited quantity of items available and these items will be removed from shopping cart when stock is depleted.
Items will be delivered between 1 March and 19 March 2010.
Make sure you order from the website www.nationalvolunteerweek.com.au .
**Please note all ordering has to be done through Volunteering Australia and NOT Volunteering WA. We recommend you get your order in early as stock may run out (lapel pins are already sold out). |
Job Service Provider forum
We'd like to say a big thank you to everyone who came along and participated in this forum. It was a really interesting morning and it was great to hear all your issues, successes and feedback.
A special thank you goes to Department for Communities, to Ingrid Cucchi and Anne Tywman for coming over from Canberra to represent DEEWR on the day and to Brian Preston from Manjimup Volunteer and Resource Centre for his contribution as a key speaker. We would also like to acknowledge the support offered by Westlink who came along and filmed the forum on the day and are working with us to produce a dvd for those who were unable to attend.
Notes from the day, along with a copy of the DEEWR presentation, will be sent out to all who attended and passed on to anyone else who is interested including Volunteering Australia and other state volunteering peak bodies. |
Volunteering WA wins award
We were delighted to be presented with the 2010 City of Perth Premier's Australia Day Active Citizenship Award for a Community Group. The award was presented during the City of Perth Australia Day Citizenship and Awards Ceremony which was held a the forecourt of Council House on 26 January 2010. Volunteering WA Chair, Matt Rutter, accepted the award on our behalf at the ceremony which was also attended by other board members and staff.
What a great start to the year!
Picture shows Matt with the award and board members Ian Fairnie and Paul Lynch with their partners at the ceremony
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Congratulations to...
The following two awards were presented at the International Volunteer Day garden party held on December 4 2009. Congratulations to both winners.
The Lifetime Achievement Award - Winner - Ray Mahoney  Presented by Volunteering WA The Lifetime Achievement Award was introduced and first presented in 2008 and recognises a lifelong contribution to volunteering by a Western Australian.
Each year nominations will be called for the award and the recipient will be selected by a committee comprising invited representatives from the volunteering and community sectors. From 2010 nominations will be called for during National Volunteer Week in May and the award recipient will be announced on International Volunteer Day in December.
Picture shows award winner Ray with Edie Hoy Poy and His Excellency Dr Ken Michael The Excellence in Volunteer Management Award - Winner - Marj Wilson
 The Excellence in Volunteer Management Award was presented by Volunteering WA for the first time in 2009 and recognises excellence in leadership of volunteers and management of a volunteer program by a salaried or non-salaried professional who works in the area of volunteer management with volunteers to provide service to others and through this to the Western Australian community.
Picture shows award winner Marj with His Excellency Dr Ken Michael and the
Hon Robyn McSweeney MLC
Each year nominations will be called for the award and the recipient will be selected by a committee comprising invited representatives from the volunteering, community and business sectors. From 2010 nominations will be called for during National Volunteer Week in May and the award recipient will be announced on International Volunteer Day in December. |
Youth and corporate volunteer positions sought
What projects are on your wish list?
Thank you to everyone that provided us with corporate volunteer placements in 2009. We receive many enquiries from high profile corporate groups and as a result of these enquiries we are requesting further listings. Whilst we cannot guarantee a placement, we do encourage you to take this opportunity to promote your programme on our corporate placement list. By engaging with these types of volunteers you can tick a project off the list and there is always the chance to build an ongoing relationship. Generally the positions are suited to a group who will volunteer one full day and on occasion a half day. You may also have positions that would suit a person one hour a week over several weeks. Some examples are assisting with events, gardening and maintenance projects , website development, marketing, advertising and business planning (this can be done from their own office).
If you have ideas that you wish to discuss please feel free to contact Lorien on 9482 4304 or email lorien@volunteeringwa.org.au.
Yvolunteer program
YVolunteer, Volunteering WA 's youth volunteering program is now endorsed by the Curriculum Council. Students participating in this program will gain one point towards their West Australian Certificate of Education (WACE). Please let us know if you have any volunteer positions available suitable for young people. Alternatively, tick the ‘student volunteers' option for suitable volunteer opportunities at your organisation when filling out our position listing form.
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Research update Volunteering WA supports the advancement of research into the issues of concern and current trends in the voluntary sector in Western Australia . In November 2008 we re-established our Research Committee following an absence of several years. The Committee is primarily an advisory body that aims to identify, share and report on existing and planned research into the WA voluntary sector. For more information or to share news of your research project with Volunteering WA please contact Denise
on 9482 4303.
Research students seeks interviews with volunteer managers
A Murdoch University PhD research student, Julia Zivanovic, is undertaking research to explore how not for profits of all sizes and budgets operate in reality rather than in textbook theory and whether there are opportunities to better help all not for profits overcome some of the barriers in managing "the business" of a not for profit. Julia particularly encourages small to medium not for profits to consider being interviewed and get their voices heard. She is looking for managers (paid and voluntary) of all types and sizes of not for profits to participate in an interview of around 30-45 minutes.
Further details are available at the VWA website. |
 Making it fair report
Making it Fair: Addressing Australia 's gender pay gap
The Australian House of Representatives Standing Committee on Employment and Workplace Relations has released a report to address the pay equity gap and other associated issues related to increasing the female workforce participation rate.
The report Making it Fair was tabled in Federal Parliament in late 2009 and contains 63 recommendations. Leading stakeholders including the Australian Institute for Company Directors and the Australian Centre for Leadership for Women have praised the report's recommendations.
Read the Making it Fair Report here.
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 Treasurer's Awards - open now
Nominate your treasurer for the Westpac Community Treasurers' Award. There's a total of $15,000 up for grabs for community organisations in small, medium and large categories, and other great prizes as well. Nominate your treasurer at www.ourcommunity.com.au/treasurersawards.
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Corporate Corner
An increasing number of corporations are establishing initiatives that facilitate Corporate Volunteering (also called Employer-Supported Volunteering - ESV) opportunities for their employees.
These programs provide a physical demonstration of a corporation's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) while building vital connections with local community organisations. For those persons wishing to gain additional insights into CSR best practices and issues in sustainability the Australian Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility's Annual Conference (in Melbourne) may be of interest:
ACCSR: Australian Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility
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Welcome to new members...
- Royal WA Historical Society Inc
- Department for Communities – Seniors, Carers and Volunteering
- The Hawkevale Trust
- Umbrella Multicultural Community Care Services
- WA Council of State School Organisations (WACSSO)
- City of Gosnells Volunteer Referral Service
- Muzzbuzz Fremantle (corporate member)
- Hollywood Private Hospital
- AMMPT Western Region (Inc) [Australian Museum of Motion Picture Technology (Inc.)]
We look forward to working with you. |
 February’s hot resource tip!
2009 National Survey of Volunteering Issues report
The full report on our National Survey of Volunteering Issues is now available for download from the Volunteering Australia website.
The annual National Survey of Volunteering Issues conducted by Volunteering Australia provides an insight into the issues that affect volunteering in Australia. The 2009 survey attracted a record number of participants with more than 3,700 respondents taking part, ensuring a wide cross section of opinions was received from individual volunteers, volunteer involving organisations and companies with employee volunteer programs.
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