National Volunteer Week 2019 - Why we Volunteer 2!

Photo: Laura Monje Gomez, Daniela Atanasova, Samantha Agius, Cinthia Zanotto, Savini Jayawardana
Our Volunteers wrote down a few reasons they volunteer at Connecting Up Inc.
 
Laura Monje Gomez
As a new migrant in Adelaide, I started volunteering in Connecting Up with the intention to make local connections and gain work experience in the country. 
 
I am an engineer and have some years of experience, but beginning a new life in a new place involves doing things I have never done before like volunteering. 
 
The first thing I thought when I was looking a volunteer job was that I wanted to do a job which I could improve my professional skills in some way and that is what I found in Connecting Up: telephone calls, data entry, video editing and working with new software are just some of my duties here.  

Volunteering gives me the chance to contribute to the community and meet new people. I would definitely do it again, while I continue to search for work opportunities in my chosen profession. 

[We are pleased to note that since this was written, Laura has returned to full-time work in her field] 
 
Daniela Atanasova
I've been volunteering at Connecting Up since November 2018. I've joined the team of volunteers to gain more local experience, improve my communication skills and meet new people.
 
I moved from Bulgaria 5 and a half years ago where I worked in various roles, as a bank accountant, assistant manager at amusement park and office assistant/bookkeeper. Currently I run a small on-line business and teach at the Bulgarian Ethnic School in Adelaide. My mission there is to help preserve the Bulgarian language and culture.
 
I'm also a mum and have my lovely 9 year old son. He keeps me very busy with all his school and sports activities, yet who will not give everything for their child?
 
I am enjoying my time volunteering at Connecting Up while I look for paid work opportunities. I like the whole friendly team at the company and a BIG thank you to our lovely coordinator Catherine McIntyre who is always very supportive and understanding. 

Samantha Agius
I joined Connecting Up in November 2017 as part of a joint Tea Tree Gully council partnership project. Since then, I have completed more than 1,588 records, located details for numerous bounced emails, added countless listings and undertaken numerous directory entry projects.

I have a BA majoring in music studies and enjoy information searching and data entry alongside my other volunteering projects with organisations such as the Wilderness Society and as an accompanist in The Little Para Singers Choir. I look forward to paid work opportunities in data entry and records management in the future.
 
Cinthia Zanotto
Originally from Brazil, I am a journalist and photographer with a Bachelor of Communication. I have been volunteering at SAcommunity to improve my skills and contribute to the Adelaide community while freelancing for companies part-time in Brazil. Articles written by Cinthia for SAcommunity can be found >>here.

[Editors note: We are pleased to report that Cinthia is working as a creative writer and writes this of her mentor Grant Smyth, Conference and Communications Manager:

"I'm so glad I've met Grant. We could meet only once, but He shared some valuable career information that day. After the conversation we had, I could change the approach I was using to look for jobs in Adelaide. I could review my resume and rewrite it in a way that would help me to kick off my international career. Also, I could see how the experiences I've had in the past would open doors to a vast number of new opportunities. 

I've appreciated the only meeting we've had so much. I hope Connecting Up volunteers can have the same experience I've had with the Mentorship program. As a person coming from overseas, it is not easy to understand how the job market works in another country. By talking to someone that knows how it works, you can figure out how to translate your experience to a format that will meet the needs of a specific industry. Thank you for that."

Cinthia also wrote of Volunteer Coordinator Catherine McIntyre: 
"I have only good things to say about Catherine. She was a great coordinator. The support I've received from her was beyond what I've expected. She gave me some useful career advice. She was a good listener, and she was always encouraging us to implement new ideas and develop different skills. I hope she can carry on the amazing work she has been doing there." - Thanks Cinthia! Ed.]

 
Savini Jayawardana
I'm an IT professional with a focus on Business Analysist and Project Management and recently migrated from Sri Lanka. I joined Connecting Up as a volunteer to gain exposure to the Australian IT industry with a special focus on the not-for-profit sector. In particular I am interested in gaining an understanding of local community services whilst contributing to community development.

[We are pleased to note that since this was written, Savini has moved into paid full-time work in a not-for-profit, well done!] 
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Why we Volunteer - continues on the following blogs
National Volunteer Week 2019
Why we Volunteer 1
Why we Volunteer 2
Why we Volunteer 3