National Volunteer Week 20 - 26 May 2019 - Why we Volunteer!
Photo: Connecting Up Volunteers - Rex Porter, Stathis Avramis, Luis Arellano and Matthew Blandford
What: National Volunteer Week 2019 - 'Making a World of Difference'
When: 20 - 26 May 2019
In this National Volunteer Week, Connecting Up would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the contribution of our wonderful volunteers.
Connecting Up supports and values a culture of training and learning and our volunteers contribute to increasing the innovative capacity within the organisation. Our volunteers display key workplace skills in information technology, customer service teamwork and problem solving to SAcommunity and the volunteer program every day.
We would be unable to deliver the SAcommunity service without their enthusiasm, skills, experience and desire to get involved, learn about and assist their community. Thank you for 'Making a world of difference.’
National Volunteer Week 2019 - Contributed by Matthew Blandford
Considering National Volunteer Week is happening during the month of May I thought it would be fitting to write a little about my experience to date as a volunteer at Connecting Up. I will take this opportunity to talk about the reasons I decided to volunteer, what I have achieved so far, and what I still hope to achieve during my volunteering.
In part I decided to volunteer for the same reasons many people decide to volunteer – that is, the opportunity to gain practical work experience, and to network and create connections. However, I also decided to volunteer for less obvious reasons.
Prior to my volunteering I studied a Bachelor of Writing and Creative Communication with the University of South Australia – that was in 2017. On the whole this was an experience that I enjoyed, however during the time in between I experienced what can only be described as a rut. It was after a long and fruitless job search that I started to consider volunteering.
Volunteering at Connecting Up Inc.
I have now been volunteering for three months. That is not a long time, especially when you consider a number of volunteers have been at Connecting Up for at least a few years – this is testament to the positive environment here. During this time, it is safe to say that my volunteering has introduced a much-needed sense of routine to my life, and even in a short space of time I no longer feel like a newbie – although I am always learning, of course. This is a sentiment which perfectly captures my experience so far; I have found volunteering has a lot to offer not only from a practical perspective, with a chance to publish my writing, but for wellbeing and confidence as well.
Following my study at university I was equipped with an array of theoretical skills and abilities but it was apparent to me that I lacked real experience—and maybe more significantly, any real idea of what I wanted for a career. This was a consideration I made when seeking voluntary opportunities. Ultimately I decided I would pursue a voluntary role that would allow me to gain administration experience, giving valuable direction to my job search.
Experience of volunteering
Reflecting on my volunteering experience after three months, I have had valuable exposure to a few key administrative practices and began to develop other valuable skills. Most notably Connecting Up’s role in maintaining the SAcommunity database has exposed me to data entry practices. Learning about the SAcommunity directory and its many nuances has been enjoyable, and the role presents a few challenges that require problem-solving skills—namely the quest for conformity across thousands of listings. Furthermore the position has taught me to be more observant and has sharpened my eye for detail.
In theory I had intended to use my time at Connecting Up to practice phone techniques and hopefully develop a competency in making outbound calls in a professional setting. I was a novice when it comes to making these kinds of calls, and I had been apprehensive however, after making my first call successfully I can consider this a win and a new skill that I hope to continue practicing during my volunteering.
Opportunities to use existing skills
I entered a voluntary role with the understanding that I would have the chance to expand on my skills, and that has definitely been my experience after three months. Something I did not foresee, however, is that volunteering would be an opportunity to consolidate skills as well.
Writing has been a passion of mine since high school, and a desire to improve on my writing contributed greatly to my decision to attend university. However, at the completion of my degree—after the essays ceased—I no longer needed to write, and so I didn’t. Volunteering at Connecting Up has given me the chance to write again, via the SAcommunity blog, and in the space of a few months I have published a few articles; a great feeling of achievement. I look forward to sharpening my skills here and interviewing services as I work towards opportunities for future paid employment. ~ Matthew
Post Volunteering
[Editors note: We are pleased to announce in January 2020 Matthew is now in a full-time role, Congratulations Matthew!]
We took this opportunity to ask several of the other volunteers why they were volunteering, what brought them to Connecting Up and discover what they wanted to achieve.
Why we Volunteer - continues as we hear from our volunteers on the following blog posts
Why we Volunteer 1
Why we Volunteer 2
Why we Volunteer 3
Why we Volunteer 1
Why we Volunteer 2
Why we Volunteer 3
