Winter Newsletter for Volunteers

“Volunteering is at the very core of being a human. No one has made it through life without someone else’s help.”

— Heather French Henry —

Welcome to Volunteer for Knox News

Registered Volunteers
Winter 2022

Welcome to Winter in Melbourne. BRRRR. It might be a little chilly but we all need to be grateful that for the first time in years we are able to catch up with our family and friends, go to restaurants, see movies, go to sports events and theatres and have no driving or walking limits in place. Have a great winter season everyone!

Special News!
Volunteer for Knox Resource Centre has been funded for four more years!

We are so excited to let you know Knox City Council has approved Coonara Community House’s application on behalf of the Knox Learning Alliance for Community Partnership funding to support Volunteer for Knox Resource Centre services for the Knox community from 2022-2026.

National Volunteer Week

National Volunteer Week is a special time for Volunteer for Knox to celebrate the wonderful achievements of volunteers in the Knox region. V4K chose Belgrave Cameo Cinema for its ambiance and accessibility to volunteers in wheelchairs, walkers and with canes. As an inclusive cinema they also offered Audio Descript.

The doors opened at 11.15am and the volunteers began to arrive and make their way to Cinema Six! With their attendance checked at the door they were welcomed with a raffle ticket and once seated received one of our new eco-friendly Jute goodie bags filled with popcorn, chocolate, water, a special thank-you certificate, pen and flyers! It was great seeing lots of familiar faces and having a chat about their ventures during Covid-19 and the challenges surrounding returning to a new normal.

Once most of the guests had arrived we tossed some giant yellow balloons to fly around the room and this was a wonderful icebreaker as it brought lots of laughs and was considered our exercise for the day! Mark from Mullum Mullum Indigenous Gathering Place formerly welcomed guests to country and made a wonderful speech about taking the time to have conversations with those around us. He then assisted the V4K team withdrawing the raffle.

We had five prizes to give away. All donated from local business who graciously gifted vouchers for our day. These included Puffing Billy Railway, Fernwood Fitness, Lorna Café, Little Rascals Play Centre, Australian Butchers Store, Cameo Cinema, Coonara Community House and Bubaji’s Indian Restaurant. Each prize pack contained five vouchers. Vanessa from Mullum Mullum presented Sally and Mandy with a small gift, a token of appreciation for the support that V4K offer to organisations. This was gratefully received and was a lovely surprise. V4K employed the services of award winning filmmaker Sierra Laird to produce an 11 minute video to celebrate the occasion which was played on the big screen. Four volunteers shared their journey with us. Margot Davies from the Jazz Museum, Nadia Porter from Rowville Lysterfield News, Eddie Atacador from Knox Community Chess Enthusiasts and Tracy from Coonara Community House. These stories were very moving and showed us that everyone has their own volunteer journey that has enriched their lives. We thank Sierra for her wonderful insight and experience interviewing our volunteers, it was a touching piece of work.

The movie, The Drover’s Wife, began and content with our popcorn, chocolates and drinks we all settled down to watch this epic tale of the legend of Molly Johnson. A searing thriller that leaves you asking how far do you go to protect your family? With great conversations after the movie we received some in depth feedback as everyone was moved by this tough and extraordinary true story.

We are so fortunate to be surrounded by so many amazing volunteers in the Knox region and today was a day that was all about them. They dedicate their time, passion, energy and love to all that they do in their volunteer roles and we are so proud of each and every one. Happy National Volunteer Week!

Celebrate You, Garden Party

Volunteer for Knox celebrated Volunteer Managers with a Garden Party in the beautiful grounds of Coonara Community House on Tuesday April 5. With the backdrop of Coonara’s stunning historic building and surrounded by lush gardens the setting was a perfect way to welcome our guests. More than 40 Volunteer Managers from Volunteer Involving Organisations in the City of Knox joined in for a day of recognition and reflection on what has been a challenging two years throughout the pandemic.

Tables adorned with white table cloths and fresh flowers were scattered throughout the grounds, guests were seated and enjoyed fresh Soul Origin wraps, sweet treats and cool Ice Tea. Knox Council Mayor Susan Laukens and Dobson Ward Cr Meagan Baker joined in the celebrations in formerly thanking the amazing dedication and hard work of each and every Volunteer Manager. As a token of our appreciation each guest received a certificate of appreciation and a T2 gift box and a specially designed cookie to take home.

This was a fabulous opportunity to reconnect face to face and finally share some of those trials and tribulations of lockdowns and network on ways to re-engage volunteers in our new Covid normal world. We thank our Volunteer Managers for their support, guidance and teamwork they provide their Volunteers and celebrate their achievements in leadership.

Volunteer Opportunities Spotlight

Adult Migrant English Program - Melbourne Polytechnic

Help newly arrived refugees and migrants settle into our way of life.
The Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) is a free service to help eligible migrants and humanitarian entrants with low English levels to improve their English language skills and settle into Australia.

Are you able to volunteer in either an online or face-to-face capacity in this flexible position to assist a newly arrived refugee or migrant, and help them to learn English and to settle into Australian life?

Free training and support are provided.

Help others with their tax returns - Eastern Regional Libraries

Tax Help community volunteers help low-income earners prepare and lodge simple tax returns online.
We’re always looking for volunteers, across the community. If you have time to spare during tax season maybe you can help. All you need is enthusiasm, good computer skills and a desire to help others.

We’ll help you to help others. A dedicated team within the Australian Taxation Office supports centres and volunteers before and during tax time with training and ongoing assistance.

A passion for Marketing and Event organising – Feed One Feed All

Feed One Feed All (FOFA) is a new, not-for-profit start up and registered charity. We currently prepare 1600 meals a month using rescued food from agencies like Foodbank and Ozharvest, and we then partner with a number of service minded organisations to distribute them FREE to the needy in our community. We are a team of fun loving people who are passionate about using the medium of food to connect with and make life better for those doing it tough. We are looking for similarly passionate people to help us do even more!

Feed One Feed All (FOFA) needs you to take control of FOFA's brand image, website, social media and lift FOFA's presence in the community.

As a new start up, we need:

The business, government and end user community to know who we are.
To identify government, corporate, individual donors, who would be willing to contribute to our charity.

FOFA will be organising fundraising or training events on occasions. As Marketing manager, you will take responsibility for the execution of these events.

This position would be suitable for a keen business graduate or MBA student willing to be mentored by the Vice President of FOFA. A good command of written English is essential. Enjoy seeing your plans/work get executed within a very short period of time. Much of the work would be remote, and can be done after hours without a need to come into an office for a meeting.

For further information on all positions please contact Volunteer for Knox.

National Sorry Day – Knox Council

Volunteer for Knox was honoured to attend the National Sorry Day Ceremony at Knox Council. Incredibly emotional and moving experience. We are SORRY! Every year on 26 May, National Sorry Day remembers and acknowledges the mistreatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were forcibly removed from their families and communities, which we now know as ‘The Stolen Generations'.

National Sorry Day is a day to acknowledge the strength of Stolen Generations Survivors and reflect on how we can all play a part in the healing process for our people and nation. While this date carries great significance for the Stolen Generations and other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, it is also commemorated by Australians right around the country.

A State Government funded (Department of Families, Fairness and Housing) Carers Employment Support Program has commenced in the Outer East of Melbourne.

It’s called the Linking Carers project. Unpaid carers of employment age are eligible to access the program to explore their options, current or future, for reconnecting to work, volunteering, social activities and small business development.

The project team recognises that it’s not a simple decision to even consider work or study. Some carers will feel that it’s all too hard. However this new project is an opportunity to begin to just think about how it might work, a chance to chat to someone without any obligation, and perhaps to meet up with other carers to have that conversation.

Employment can include working for an employer, unpaid or volunteer work or self-employment. Carers may choose to work only a few hours per week. There is no minimum required.

Contact us to arrange a personal interview regarding the support available
Phone: 0457 646 384 (Leanne) or 0417 361 411 (Leonie)
Email: carersproject@chaosnetwork.org.au
Or check out our website for information about activities at our Linking Carers Hubs (Mt Evelyn, Upper Ferntree Gully and Woori Yallock)

Linking Carers Website

Volunteer for Knox Training

Not everyone is a natural at administration, “tech stuff”, supervision and leadership, but you can always learn and upskill! Start building on your skills by enrolling in a Volunteer for Knox training session facilitated by trainers at the five Knox Community Houses, the governance team of Volunteer for Knox. Click here to take a look at our Term 3, 2022 Training calendar.

www.volunteerforknox.com.au/training

Volunteering

If you know someone that wants to volunteer but doesn’t know where or how to start this fabulous journey please tell them to contact us at Volunteer for Knox to guide them or check out our current opportunities here:

Become a volunteer

Westfield Knox Community Space

The Community Space at Westfield Knox City Shopping Centre has been providing a venue for community groups to showcase what they do best to members of the public since 2014.

The aim of the Community Space is to celebrate community, volunteering and learning in the Knox community. There is no cost but you must book. It is located next to Liquorland and opposite the Fresh Food Market.

This space has enabled the:

Promotion of important services provided in the community
Recruitment of new members and volunteers
Promoting Volunteer for Knox Resource Centre
Celebration of community achievements
Educating the community about issues and events
Adult Learning Opportunities
Showcasing local sporting clubs and schools
Cultural celebrations
Reducing social isolation for seniors

The ACFE board and Knox City Council contributed towards the initial setup and now it is resourced by the five community houses in Knox, including The Basin, Mountain District LC, Rowville NLC and Orana.

Contact Sally@coonarahouse.org.au if you are interested in booking the space or call Coonara Community House on 9758 7081.