National Volunteer Week 2019 - Why we Volunteer 1!

Photo: Connecting Up Volunteers - Rex Porter, Stathis Avramis, Luis Arellano and Matthew Blandford

Rex Porter
My name is Rex Porter, and I volunteer at both Connecting Up and the City of Prospect. At this stage of life, I’m not working and I have time on my hands where I can make a voluntary contribution to the community. 
 
At Connecting Up I help to update SA Community a directory of community service organisations.  This directory is used by many  people when they are looking for services and also by state and local governments when contacting community organisations.   I’m playing my part in keeping this valuable directory up to date.  Hopefully this will also help community organisations in gaining access to government grants.
 
At the City of Prospect, I volunteer in the Digital Hub in the library.   I provide one on one assistance to people with their digital products - mainly phones, tablets and laptop computers.  I find that many new users of these devices are scared that they might damage their equipment.  I enjoy encouraging people to have a go.  People often come in for several visits and it’s good to see their skills improving as they go.
 
I enjoy volunteering.  I get to meet all sorts of people and pass on the skills I’ve gained over the years.
 
Stathis Avramis
Is a regular volunteer with Connecting Up and is also 'shared' with the City of Prospect as part of the Council Partnerships Program to update the Prospect dataset. Stathis assists with day-to-day volunteering tasks including addressing the hundreds of emails and updates Connecting Up receives. His background and skills in IT have made him invaluable in assisting with the volunteer management software implementation project and for data sharing events such as GovHack
 
Luis Arellano
As an IT professional from South America, I have been volunteering at Connecting Up while undertaking my Information management postgraduate studies at UNISA.
 
I started volunteering with an aim to learn about Australian culture and meet new people, however I soon learned about how my contribution could help non-for-profit organizations. I have been volunteering for around year and a half, applying my skills in IT and analysis to the Connecting Up programs while applying for contracts in my field of expertise. Find out more about my volunteering experience >>here.
 
Matthew Blandford
Find out more about my volunteering experience >>here.
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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