Hi Tony,

Welcome to the June edition of our newsletter. Well winter is officially upon us, time to dig out those woolie jumpers. In this edition you can read about our new online toolkit, browse some of our National Volunteer Week photos and catch up with sector news.

1. Upcoming training
2. Economic value of volunteering in WA
3. National Volunteer Week photos
4. Seeds of Renewal program
5. Enhancing Access update
6. Community Service Program update
7. Better Connections update
8. NVW survey for Volunteering Australia
9. New Givewell survey
10. IGA Community Chest Unsung Heroes Awards
11. Welcome to new members...
12. Farewell to...
13. June’s hot resource tip!

Upcoming training

A volunteer management program has just 4 stages:

• Stage 1 - Pre-recruitment
• Stage 2 - Recruitment
• Stage 3 - Retention
• Stage 4 - Review

If you need to bring some order into your busy life as a volunteer program manager, this workshop is for you! We will look at each stage; identify the essential processes and clear the decks for a fresh approach.

Registration is essential, contact Jennie Loveridge on 9482 4333 or email jennie@volunteeringwa.org.au.

Date: June 25 2009, 9.30 - 12.30pm
Location: City West Lotteries House, 2 Delhi Street, West Perth WA 6005
Price: free to VWA financial members, fee applied for listing only and non members

Economic value of volunteering in WA

The Economic Value of Volunteering in Western Australia report by Dr Duncan Ironmonger of the University of Melbourne was commissioned by the Department for Communities to demonstrate the significant contribution Western Australia’s army of volunteers makes to the Western Australian economy and community. Click here for a copy of the full report. Click here for a fact sheet showing key findings from the report.

National Volunteer Week photos

Photos from all our National Volunteer Week events are available on the NVW page of our website – or click below to take a look at our photostream.

A big thanks to all those who came to the breakfast and made our launch of National Volunteer Week such a success, feedback has been very positive. There are also pictures from the Enhancing Access lunch and the Joondalup Volunteer Resource Centre’s cupcake morning tea. Thanks to Ian Hakanson, our volunteer photographer for taking most of these shots.

www.flickr.com Go to Volunteering WA's photostream

Seeds of Renewal Program

Strengthening Community Enterprise Seeds of Renewal is a small grants program providing funding to small, rural not-for-profit organisations for projects and activities to aid the growth of their community. Independently administered by the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR) and proudly supported by ANZ, the program aims to assist small rural and regional communities working towards a more sustainable future. This program aims to be simple, with a straight forward and swift application and approval process. What can be funded?

• Communities that have a population of 15,000 people or less
• Projects with a charitable purpose
• Grants will be made in amounts up to $10,000
• Applications from not-for-profit organisations with an ABN; and

• Community and Social Enterprise that supports Volunteer Initiatives at a Local Community Level
• Demonstrates Community Collaboration

Enhancing Access update

Thanks to everyone who attended to EA Celebration Lunch at the UWA Water Sport Complex. It was great to get everyone together to celebrate the success of volunteers and volunteer managers who have worked with the Enhancing Access project. We also launched a very exciting new product at the lunch – the Enhancing Access E-Learning Resource Kit!

This is a wonderful tool for volunteer managers who are interested in making their volunteer team more inclusive and diverse. The resource is chockfull of links, suggestions and resources to help you make your volunteer team more inclusive of people with disabilities and those recovering from mental ill health.

Visit http://ea.volunteeringwa.org.au and get clicking!

Community Service Program update

As many of you may have recently seen in the media, it was reported that the Community Service Program (CSP) would no longer be compulsory in Western Australian secondry schools and the 20 hour mandatory community service requirement for Year 12 graduation has been discontinued.

As Volunteering WA investigated this further, it has become clear that the program funding has actually been cut as a part of the 3% efficiency dividend required by state government departments.

Read the full Volunteering WA statement here.

Better Connections update

The Better Connections Volunteering in the Wheatbelt: A Resource for Community Organisations was successfully launched by Hon Mr Terry Waldron MLA at a morning tea in Narrogin during National Volunteer Week. Special guests included the board and staff of the Wheatbelt Development Commission, representatives from the Department of Sport and Recreation, and volunteers from community organisations in Narrogin.

The Community Resource, as well as the Better Connections Wheatbelt Volunteering Report and its companion Research Report will be available for download shortly on the Volunteering WA website.

NVW survey for Volunteering Australia

Please complete Volunteering Australia's quick NVW survey. Let them know what you liked about NVW and how they can support you better next year. The survey is a valuable tool to help VA plan for 2010.

New Givewell survey

This new survey Demand for services - how is the global economic downturn impacting on the demand for the services of Australian charities? will explore the impact of the recession on the demand for services (ie, greater community needs). The survey's results will form an important management tool as charities consider their plans into 2010. It will educate the community and policymakers about what an economic downturn means for the important services that the sector provides.

Givewell need your input and ask you to please complete this 5 minute survey so that reliable trends can be measured and shared amongst the sector and the broader community.

IGA Community Chest Unsung Heroes Awards

The IGA Community Chest Unsung Heroes Awards nominations are open until 17 July. IGA is looking for the’ Unsung Heroes’ in WA – whether they are the individuals who take time to visit their local nursing home each week, the parents who volunteer their time to coach the local soccer team every Saturday morning and the brave firefighters who risk their lives to save others.

Click here for more information.

Welcome to new members...

• Centacare Employment and Training
• City of Nedlands Volunteer Service
• Ready to Work Inc
• ECU Student Guild
• Friends of St Lucia Inc

We look forward to working with you.

Congratulations to...

• Carers WA who are the proud recipients of the Citizen of the Year Gold Swan Award for 2009!

Farewell to...

Janette Spencer, Senior Manager Projects has left Volunteering WA to take up a new role as Community Development Manager with City of Subiaco.

We are, of course, very sad to lose Janette but delighted at all the new role has to offer her and wish her the best of luck with it. Janette was with us for 3 years and in that time has been a great asset to the organisation and will be missed by us all.

Good luck Janette!

June’s hot resource tip!

Volunteering Unplugged

This one is for you to pass on to your volunteers. Volunteering Unplugged is a cool new resource from Seek and Volunteering Australia where volunteers share their stories with the general public. Launched during National Volunteer Week you might want to pass the link on to your volunteers - http://www.volunteer.com.au/unplugged/