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After months of hard work we were proud to launch the first edition of our new Centre for Participation magazine, Participate last week.

Designed to share with readers what is happening within the organisation from our services to our goals, highlighting the wonderful work our volunteers do and showing how you can help, we hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed putting it all together.

 

Read Edition 1 here:   Issue 1

No strangers to volunteering, having given their time to various roles throughout the course of many decades, the couple spent 22 years.

MOVING to Horsham “temporarily” in 2009, John and Sandra Bamkin thought they’d volunteer “while we’re here”; nine years on the couple could have never imagined the amazing impact their friendly visiting would have or the ongoing friendships they would develop.

Travelling Australia on their bus and gaining amazing life experiences, before moving to Horsham when John was given the chance to study IT.

Joining the former Wimmera HUB, Sandra was involved in taking clients shopping while John volunteered as a driver, with their roles later evolving to friendly visiting; something the couple’s impressive background as counselors no doubt assisted with.

And, aged a spritely 73 and 76 respectively, Sandra and John simply refuse to utter the “R” word…retirement: “We have a laugh when people say they’re retired as we refuse to use that word; we have so much still to offer”.

“Volunteering as friendly visitors is a lot of fun, and we have developed strong rapport and friendships with the people we visit,” Sandra said. Plus, we get a lot out of knowing we can still be of use to the community like keeping and get to meet lots of nice people and have fun,” John said.

If their counselling background wasn’t impressive enough, the couple also trained in IT, management, natural therapies, massage and training, and, during their travels, spent time living and working with Aboriginal communities.

Visiting a client who was shy, closed off and didn’t engage with them to the point refused to let them enter his home, the couple worked on his engagement skills and are proud to now consider the client a friend who has most definitely come out of his shell since they met.

“We’ve developed such a good friendship with this client, who loves going for coffee and drives, and even asked whether he could spend his birthday with us,” Sandra said. “We used to run meditation classes and brought him along. This helped him get out of the house and meet new people. Prior to our friendly visiting there is no way he would have ever done that,” she said.

Preparing to host two workshops at the Centre for Participation on June 25, INTERNATIONAL volunteering expert Rob Jackson, who will make his third visit to Horsham in June, believes now is an important time for the Australian volunteering movement.

UK basedMr Jackson, whose background includes leading and managing volunteers and volunteering programs for over 20 years, will discuss customer service and volunteering, and myths of volunteer management.

“I’m excited to be returning to Horsham for my third visit in a little over two years,”Mr Jackson said.

“I’ve had the pleasure of working with the Centre for Participation and many other Wimmera organisations in my previous training sessions and I always receive a warm welcome; the hospitality, friendliness and commitment of volunteer managers in the region is exceptional and so welcome when you are on the other side of the world,” he said. The customer service and volunteering workshop will help participants understand the importance of good customer service in volunteer programs, and what they can do to improve the service they provide.

Expectations

“Whether we like it or not, our societies are increasingly consumer-driven and we all now have higher expectations of our interactions with business and service providers than we did a decade ago,” Mr Jackson said. “We expect fast responses to questions, speedy delivery of purchases and a high standard of professionalism in our dealing with others. Volunteering is not immune to this,” he said.

“As the old cliche goes ‘you only have one chance to make a good impression’, so Volunteer Involving Organisations and Volunteer Managers have to be highly attuned to delivering great customer service to existing and potential volunteers.” “I hope people will pick up some hints and tips about how to deliver great customer service in their work with volunteers and leave the workshop with some actionable steps to further improve their work.”

Myths

During the Myths of Volunteer Management workshop,Mr Jackson will explore some of the common myths about volunteers and volunteering, like “volunteers can’t handle confidential information”, “volunteers take people’s jobs”,  and “volunteers are less effective than paid staff”, in a bid to assist attendees in sharpening their arguments and to stand up for their work.

Book your place now, seats limited 

Venue: Centre for Participation
Date: Monday 25 June 2018
Cost: $40 pp for one workshop or $65 pp for both workshops

 

A CHANCE to help young people learn basic driving skills attracted volunteer mentor driver Wayne Lentsment initially, but, 6 years on, he has gained so much more.

Spotting an ad calling for drivers in a local newspaper, Wayne, who was already busy with commitments as a Marriage Celebrant, bus driver and arthritis group volunteer, was quick to put his hand up.

Completing a 2 day training course through VicRoads, Wayne has been with the Licencing the Wimmera program since its inception, and says he gets a lot out of the sessions.

“Experience is wisdom. I really enjoy sharing my life experience and skills with the young person, as well as hearing their stories and sharing their lives,” he said.

“Seeing their confidence grow and building a rapport and friendship is wonderful, as is working around different learning styles. It’s definitely a two way thing.”

From hill driving, using the Wawunna Road overpass, to driving on different road surfaces, long distance driving and parallel parking, Wayne, like the other mentors, tries his best to present learners with an overall driving skills package.

“But, while a lot of my mentees are receptive to these interactions and aren’t afraid to ask if they can try something else, I insist they learn to use and trust the vehicle and their own abilities above all else,” Wayne said.

“Licencing the Wimmera benefits the community by getting young people into the driver’s seat not only earlier, but with the correct skills, confidence and a sense of responsibility.”

Volunteering weekly, Wayne said the shortest period he trained a learner was just 2 days while the longest, to date, has been 14 months.

“I get a lot out of these interactions and enjoy seeing the young person learn how to live as a civic person and develop their driving skills. I also appreciate how flexible the program is, I can fit it around my other commitments and the flexibility to change days is there, if needed,” he said.

Telling others about his experiences as a volunteer driving mentor, Wayne said in the past he would leave it up to the individual to sign up as a volunteer if they chose to do so.

“However, after personally experiencing the positive impact the program has on both the young person and the mentor, I would definitely encourage more people to put their hand up,” Wayne said.

To register your interest in volunteering as a mentor driver, or to find out more about the program phone Licencing the Wimmera Coordinator Marieke Dam on 03 5382 5607.