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alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.
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Welcome to Volunteer for Knox News
Registered Organisations
Autumn 2021
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One Year On
It’s been a year since the COVID-19 pandemic became a disruptive force in all aspects of our lives and forced us to rethink how we engage our volunteers. At the start of the pandemic many organisations in Knox saw a decrease in volunteerism as they were forced to close, postpone or cancel activities, and many volunteers stayed home because of their age and/or health vulnerability. One of the biggest challenges that organisations faced during the pandemic was that many long-term dedicated volunteers were also those among the most vulnerable to COVID-19.
One year on organisations are slowly re-opening programs and services. Part of that planning includes welcoming back our volunteers and making sure we create a safe environment for them.
Volunteer for Knox now inducts volunteers on their rights and responsibilities online with a YouTube video created by co-ordinator Sally Dusting-Laird. This system is still being used and will probably be a permanent feature as the turnaround for placement is extremely quick instead of waiting for our monthly face to face inductions. Learning to “pivot” was essential during this time.
Volunteer for Knox learned a lot during this period. People were still wanting to volunteer and expressions of interest in positions tripled. Virtual positions including online tutoring, writing letters to people in aged care, business planning and calling people to check on their welfare was extremely popular. The pandemic seemed to bring out the best in people caring for their neighbours and community.
We also learned that for most volunteers who stopped volunteering in-person, their comfort level increases with social distancing practices in place and access to the appropriate Personal Protective equipment, commonly referred to as "PPE". This and many other new words have entered our vocabulary…’’self-isolating”, “pandemic”, “quarantine”, “lockdown”, “epidemiologist’s”, ‘’Zoom fatigue’’, “social distancing”, “flatten the curve” and “key workers”.
If you currently need volunteers please contact Sally Dusting-Laird at E: office@volunteerforknox.com.au or phone: 0429968822 |
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Volunteer for Knox Network Meeting via Zoom
You are all invited to catch up via Zoom at our next Network meeting to be held on Tuesday May 4 10.30am – 12 noon. Let’s share and learn from each other about the positive and negative aspects of living with Covid and our plans for the future.
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National Volunteer Week
National Volunteer Week (NVW) is Australia’s largest annual celebration of volunteers. From Monday 17th to Sunday 23rd May 2021, NVW will celebrate the significant contribution of Australia’s almost six million volunteers. Each year these volunteers dedicate over 600 million hours to help others.
The theme for NVW 2021 is Recognise. Reconnect. Reimagine. which acknowledges that it is time to:
- RECOGNISE, celebrate and thank volunteers for the vital role they play in our lives.
- RECONNECT to what is important by giving our time to help others and ourselves.
- REIMAGINE how we better support volunteers and communities they help.
Volunteer for Knox will be providing a morning tea, fun workshops and free giveaways to celebrate our community volunteers at the Westfield Knox community space Lower level outside Myer on Wednesday 19th May 10.30am – 12.30pm. Please let your volunteers know. All welcome!
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Volunteer Expo
The Volunteer for Knox team want to assist you in promoting your organization to the public and potential volunteers by organizing a Volunteer Expo later in the year.
The Expo is an opportunity for organisations in the City of Knox to showcase their work to the community.
Volunteer Expos are a great way of exposing potential volunteers to organisations looking for volunteer support.
Some ideas!
Remember, for many people your stand will be their first introduction to your organisation, so it is important that you make a good impression. Check out these five good ideas for making the most of your volunteer expo stand.
1. Create Visual Impact
A tablecloth, a few balloons and a sagging sign is not going to attract people to your stand. You need to create a visual impact that is both professional and welcoming. To do this, make sure you choose a key message and use consistent branding – colours, fonts, images.
2. Let Your Volunteers Speak
It’s one thing for you to say how much fun it is to volunteer with your organisation; it’s another thing altogether when it’s the volunteers who are singing your praises. Whether or not you have volunteers manning your stall, it is important that they get a chance to tell their stories.
3. Tell the Whole Story
It’s important that potential volunteers appreciate the scope of your organisation and all the different opportunities that exist for volunteering. Make a list of volunteer roles and when choosing photographs to display, make sure you include images that show volunteers doing a variety of tasks. It’s also important that you show the diversity of volunteers within your organisation – particularly in regards to age, gender and ethnicity.
4. Q&A’s
Make sure that any person manning your stall is well informed about your organisation and knows just what’s involved with becoming a volunteer
5. Follow-Up
Few people will be prepared to sign-up as a volunteer on the spot, so it is important that you have a basic information pack for interested parties to take home and that you gather contact details so you can follow-up with each person after the event. A follow-up phone call should happen within 48 hours; otherwise any interest they have showed may disappear
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Volunteering Victoria
Leading People During COVID-19
In order to have volunteers on site, your organisation must have a COVID safe plan. You may also want to look at your current Position Descriptions and inform potential volunteers what will happen in the event of future lockdowns. For more resources click here:
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Leadership Tips for Bringing Volunteers Back Post COVID
Are you aware that developing effective leadership qualities is vital to your success?
Five Traits of an inspiring leader!
Leadership is a cultivated skill that requires development to strengthen and maintain. Once you're able to build strong leadership traits, you're positioned to inspire your entire team. Here are our top five essential leadership traits that everyone can cultivate to be a more productive leader:
1. HONESTY
Being honest is not only one of the leadership traits that will allow you to lead with integrity, but it's one of the only ways to make strong connections with others. Ensure each team member knows your culture and core expectations and show them how much you value honesty in your everyday interactions with others by setting valuable examples.
2. EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
Knowing your team's communication style and your own is a leadership trait that will strengthen your team the most. Inspiring leaders don't just communicate information to their team – they also know how to communicate goals and their vision to get their team excited.
3. CONFIDENCE
True leaders are confident and know they can think – and act – outside the box to take their team and organisation to the next level. When you appear confident – even if you don't feel confident – others will be more likely to follow your lead and believe in your authority. Practice strong non-verbal communication by standing tall, making eye contact and learning to control your fidgeting.
4. EMPATHY
Displaying empathy when you're trying to reach someone allows you to determine whether you've gotten your message across. When you're able to see another person's perspective, you're able to predict the effect your words and actions will have on them. Without empathy, the reverse happens, and you risk alienating the very people you're attempting to create connections with.
5. POSITIVITY
Finally, a leadership quality of truly great leaders is the sense of positivity that energises everyone around them. It's not that they never have moments of frustration or disappointment, but that they're able to take a positive approach to tackle challenging issues.
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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 and your volunteer team skills by enrolling in one of Volunteer for Knox training sessions. Click here to take a look at our Term 2 Training calendar.
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Westfield Knox
Fundraising Opportunity
Westfield Knox is offering non-profit organisations a small community site (with a movable table) outside the smaller Coles/Reject Shop/Bakers Delight area on the lower level to advertise and market what you do free of charge. So if you need more volunteers for your organisation, group or sporting club this is a great opportunity in a prime position.
If you are interested please contact
Retail Manager Shaun McCabe – Shaun.McCabe@scentregroup.com
or Joanne Bartlett at Concierge – jbartlett2@scentregroup.com
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Westfield Knox
New Community Space
We have some fabulous news for you. We now have a new community space at Westfield Knox to promote volunteering opportunities and community organisations. Special thanks to Westfield Knox for providing the premises. The shop is situated outside Myer on the lower level. It is a great opportunity for us to promote community organisations. There will be Covid rules, sanitising and a sign in book when using and practicing social distancing of course.
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We're here to help
Thank you for registering with Volunteer for Knox.
Volunteer for Knox Co-ordinator Sally Dusting-Laird
E: office@volunteerforknox.com.au
M: 0429968822
Website: www.volunteerforknox.com.au
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