Volunteer Awareness Week 2009 count down

Saturday, 30 May 2009, 11:21 am
Press Release: Volunteering New Zealand

email: ed [at] volunteeringnz [dot] org [dot] nz
May 2009
VOLUNTEERING NEW ZEALAND FOCUS:

Volunteer Awareness Week 2009 count down

In two weeks time we start Volunteer Awareness Week 2009 and if you haven't plan your involvement yet, now is when you should do so. VNZ offers its support in a number of ways.

Firstly you can record your event for the Week on the special blog VNZ has placed on its website. This will serve as a collection of different events happening in NZ during the Week. Everyone who is planning an event is encouraged to post it on the blog and by doing so enter the draw to win a $50 book voucher. Each post counts as one entry. This blog is being promoted to the news media, which is another reason to have your event included on blog. Information on how to publish your event and win is available on the blog itself. Check it out at http://vaw2009.blogspot.com.

There is a new revised VAW Toolkit available free for download from our website. It provides ideas for events and other promotional activities, how to contact media and prepare media releases, a template for recognition certificates, etc.

Facts & Figures on Volunteering in NZ has been updated and the new document is available from the VNZ website.

VNZ has still 'Do a World of Good' posters and a very limited supply of balloons. If you did not receive any of these yet, please contact Glennis ASAP at office [at] volunteeringnz [dot] org [dot] nz or fax 04 3843637. Be quick as our stocks are limited. The promotional materials are free and will be delivered to you free of charge.

Our new volunteer writer Nicholas Ruane has researched and written two stories providing heaps of information on youth and volunteer awareness week in NZ and overseas. Nick is a passionate committed policy writer who has much experience of the voluntary sector through the time and effort he puts into organisations such as PARAFED (www.parafed.org.nz). He is interested in disability issues as well as the voluntary sector as a whole.

Not to forget volunteering by youth is the theme for this VAW. It will be a great opportunity to emphasise the many ways in which young people already volunteer, demonstrating the opportunities for other young people. Young people are potential volunteers for today and into the future. Encouraging them to become volunteers is a major strategic aim for VNZ. We have just added a Youth Fact sheet to our Toolkit in order to help you with the special theme for the Week.

VNZ encourages participation in the Week by all organisations and services who involve volunteers in their programmes and activities. It is an opportunity to celebrate and recognise your volunteers. At the same time you can showcase how you involve volunteers and ways in which new volunteers can contribute.

Volunteering Conference Registrations to open mid June
Registrations for the 2009 conference "Volunteering Unleashed - new times bring new approaches" will open mid June with the early bird registration fee of $350 (GST incl) on offer for a two month period until 15 August. Registrations will be able to be made online with access through www.volunteeringnz.org.nz or printed out for those who wish it in that form. There will be a small number of places available at the reduced registration fee of $112.50 (GST incl). The procedure for applying for these will be included in the registration brochure.

Conference Programme taking shape
The programme planning group are meeting at the end of May to develop the firm outline of the programme for the 2009 conference. This will include setting the structure of the overall programme, deciding on keynote speakers to be confirmed or invited and reviewing the abstracts which have been received for the break out sessions.

Anyone who was thinking of sending in an abstract for a session at the conference should do so in the next few days as the programme group may wish to add to those chosen at its meeting. The details on how to submit an abstract could be found through on our website.

The Abstracts Template is available here and they are to be e-mailed to ed [at] volunteeringnz [dot] org [dot] nz.
Abstracts should relate to one of the two conference themes
• Volunteering Tomorrow: New Opportunities - new ways for volunteering
• Inspiring Leaders: Advancement of the Profession of Volunteer Management
The programme will be outlined in the registration brochure.

Conference sponsorship and exhibition support being sought
Some potential sponsors and exhibitors have expressed their interest in participating in the conference and as mentioned in the April VNZ Update we have the support of the Wellington Convention Centre, which is providing the full venue without charge. VNZ is keen for many more supporters to come forward as sponsors or exhibitors.

Readers of this VNZ Update who are interested in supporting in this way or know of potential sponsors are asked to contact Tim Burns, VNZ Executive Director by e-mail ed [at] volunteeringnz [dot] org [dot] nz or phone 04 3843637 to obtain a copy of our Sponsorship/Exhibition Proposal.

Youth Volunteering: Separating the myth from reality
by Nicholas Ruane, VNZ volunteer writer
New Zealand youth today are commonly reported in a negative context. A 2007 workshop "Youth in the media" (more info here) organised by young people, found that youth perceived the media runs a view that the majority of youth are not respectful and portrays negative role models with an especially low focus on volunteering as positive role modelling.

This conference also found that the media used an 'if it bleeds it leads' mentality and this makes it very hard to get positive stories through the main media outlets.

The reality is very much different from what we see in the media on a day to day basis. Look closer and you will find many examples of young people volunteering their time for many different reasons in many different areas of society.

The Ministry of Youth Development (MYD) highlights a series of exceptional New Zealand youth who participate in volunteering activities through out New Zealand.

IHC in its Annual Report for 2007 sought to have youth volunteering as its focus for 2008 / 2009. IHC wanted this because it saw youth volunteering as a way to reach out to the community that it was a part of and connect young people with other young people.

Youthline also wants to engage young people with its community based research. It aims to do this through talking to young people about the research process and engaging young people in its research process.

The winners of the Trustpower Youth Spirit Awards announced below are individual examples of amazing young volunteers.

A big question remains, why are young people volunteering today, in 2009?

An anonymous respondent to a MYD survey highlights his / her reasons for volunteering as being to get their foot in the door of an industry they are not fully qualified for yet, to establish resources and networks for later on. This respondent highlighted the financial pressure felt by his / her volunteering but said that some volunteering was so important that they could not turn it down.

It is quite clear that there are very many positive examples of young people volunteering here in New Zealand. In preparing this article I was inundated with examples of youth volunteering projects. There seems to be growing recognition in the mainstream media for youth doing positive things in the community.

Scouts NZ is a great organisation that seeks to provide young people with opportunities to have experiences in outdoor learning settings. Opportunities to volunteer are to be found at every level within Scouts NZ as a Leader, a Committee Member, a Scouting Associate, and a Parent Helper.

Earlier this year, (1-3rd May) 2009 the ON THE EDGE youth leadership conference was held at Victoria University's Pipitea Campus. 'The purpose of the conference was to inspire young people to have a passion and purpose in the growth of their schools, communities, and within New Zealand'. The conference delegates will be presentations from prominent New Zealanders which will hopefully inspire them to go out and make a difference in their communities and their schools.

And finally, two pieces from the weird world called the interweb.

Firstly, a piece listing the top three reasons why a non-profit should have a twenty-something on their board, see here for details.

Secondly, a piece on ten strategies for engaging Generation Y in the Nonprofit Workplace. Again see link for details here.

Volunteer Awareness Week: many reasons to get excited…
by Nicholas Ruane, VNZ volunteer writer
VNZ as the facilitator of VAW is a member of a wider international network of Volunteer Organisations. It is the NZ representative of the International Association for Volunteer Effort and also talks directly to kindred national organisations in several countries which all have their own volunteer awareness weeks.

Organisations in Australia celebrated National Volunteer Week from 11 - 17 May this year. The focus was: "Volunteers: "Everyday people, extraordinary contribution". This message carried the theme that every volunteer's contribution is extraordinary, no matter how big or small, because that person cares to make it.

In Canada, National Volunteer Week was held from 19 to 25 April, the focus for Volunteer Canada was the same as in the previous year "from comPASSION to action" but this year the emphasis was on the passion that drives Canada's volunteers to donate their time to better their communities and the lives of others.

In United States, the Points of Light Institute celebrated National Volunteer Week in the same week as Canada with the theme "Celebrating People in Action". They honoured the individuals who dedicate themselves to taking action and solving problems in their communities.

A truly great example of the volunteering spirit comes from Colorado in the United States where the Colorado Chapter of the United States National MS Foundation is holding the oldest nonprofit charity bike ride. The West - Life Bike MS Ride has the goal of raising over $3 million $USD. Over 3,000 cyclists will take part as well as 600 volunteers and countless supporters.

Elderly people can see a great example of the volunteering spirit from Europe where a project was started by CEV (European Volunteer Centre) who found that in central and Eastern Europe there was reluctance in community action. In Italy the majority of Volunteers are over 60 so CEV and volunteer groups sparked exchanges that gave the elderly a taste of volunteering especially for the elderly.

In Singapore another great example of the volunteer spirit is seen through the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (nvpc.org.sg). The centre provides opportunities for Singaporeans to volunteer for worthy causes such as the Society for the Physically Disabled teaching IT skills to Disabled Singaporeans.

These examples from overseas, as well as VAW here in New Zealand June 14th - 20th make me very excited about volunteering in general and Volunteering Awareness Week specifically. I am very excited that VAW is coming up and that I have time to think about what I will do for VAW… What will you do for VAW?

NEW ZEALAND NEWS
Volunteer Centres meet in Gisborne
Managers and some Board members from volunteer centres around New Zealand gathered for their six monthly network meeting held in Gisborne earlier in May. Hon Tariana Turia, Minister for the Community and Volunteering Sector opened the meeting with a challenge as to whether there needed to be so many volunteer centres (14 currently join in the Volunteer Centres Network).

In the following discussion the Minister was given several good reasons as to the value of the Centres and why more were probably needed rather than fewer. They pointed out that Centres do much more than assist in bringing volunteers and local community organisations together. They provide training programmes for volunteer managers/co-ordinators, board members of community organisations and others, establish and facilitate local networks of volunteer co-ordinators, work with corporate organisations to aid their contributions to their local communities through employee volunteering and promote the value and needs for volunteering within their local communities. A number of centres are also key resources in special community developments often at the request of government agencies. They form a special resource reaching across the community organisations in their regions.

The meeting discussed a range of issues which included input from Alison Marshall and Tim Burns from Volunteering New Zealand. A special motivational presentation "Be the Difference" was given by Hilary Morrish Allen, deputy chairperson of the Gisborne Volunteer Centre.

Recession no barrier to generosity by DineAID restaurant patrons
Despite the recession, guests frequenting 20 of New Zealand's top restaurants have demonstrated true generosity in the first annual DineAID charity campaign.

More than 150 restaurants in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown got behind the DineAID campaign, adding $2 to each table during a two-month Christmas campaign to raise funds for Kiwi families in need. However, 20 restaurants stood out for the generosity of their patrons, who added significantly more than the minimum donation to their bills.

These restaurants, which range from Auckland's Euro and The French Café, to Citron and The White House in Wellington, the Lonestar in Petone, Harbour Seventy One in Akaroa and the Fishbone Grill and Pier 19 in Queenstown, outstripped the average performance of DineAID supporting restaurants around the country.

DineAID founder Chef Mark Gregory, who launched the charity in November last year after seeing the success of this fundraising concept in the UK which has since rolled out in countries around the world, said in its first 8 week campaign the fledgling charity raised $55,000.

VOLUNTEERING PEOPLE
Sukhvinder Kaur-Stubbs to be chair of Volunteering England
Sukhvinder Kaur-Stubbs, the former chief executive of the Barrow Cadbury Trust, has been appointed chair of Volunteering England and will take over in September, 2009. She will succeed Mike Nussbaum, who has been in the role since 2004.

Justin Davis Smith, Chief Executive of Volunteering England, said, "We're delighted to announce Sukhvinder's appointment. Not only is she is steeped in volunteering and community engagement but she also has the desire and influence to help us as an organisation engage further with the wider debates currently taking place about citizenship and participation. We believe that with Sukhvinder as chair, Volunteering England is in the best possible position to make a real difference to volunteering and the issues it faces in the coming years."

VOLUNTEERING RECOGNITION AWARDS
Trustpower Youth Spirit award winners
Tararua
Tristan Menzies from Dannevirke High School has been named as the winner of the inaugural TrustPower Youth Community Spirit Award which took place on 11 May 2009. The Award recognises secondary school students' service to the school and the community and is jointly run by TrustPower and the Tararua District Council.

To be considered for the TrustPower Youth Community Spirit Award students had to have contributed widely as a student to their college/school; developed good relationships, treating others with respect and care; given service to school or community projects; and been a good ambassador for the college/school and the region.

Tristan is involved in a lot of sport teams, cultural activities and groups in the school who help other students. He is also heavily involved in his community by being a Big Brother Big Sister participant, playing in the local Brass Band, volunteering in the past at the local SPCA and playing the piano at retirement villages around town.

Ashburton
Sam Lewthwaite from Mount Hutt College has been named as the winner of the inaugural TrustPower Youth Community Spirit Award. Sam is on the Ashburton Youth Council, as well as a prefect at Mount Hutt College. He took part in a Mission trip to Fiji, is involved in the 40-Hour-Famine, is a Buddy and also works part-time.

Community Organisations Awards
Southern Tararua St John's Health Shuttle takes Top Award
The Southern Tararua St John's Health Shuttle has won the Supreme Award at the TrustPower Tararua District Community Awards. At the beginning of March last year the Southern Tararua St John's Health Shuttle found a need in the Southern Tararua community for transport to Palmerston North and Masterton health facilities. The volunteers put around 200 hours into the service transporting patients from the areas of Eketahuna, Pahiatua and Woodville to the health centres in Masterton and Palmerston North.

The category winners for the region were:
Heritage and Environment: Eketahuna Our Town
Health and Well Being: Help 'n' Hand
Arts and Culture: Tararua Television Trust
Sport and Leisure: Dannevirke A & P Association
Educational and Child/Youth Development: Tararua Community Youth Services

Hakatere Maori Committee wins Supreme Award
The Hakatere Maori Committee has won the Supreme Award at the TrustPower Ashburton District Community Awards. The Hakatere Maori Committee re-developed their entire marae complex, and in the process has opened it up to the community at large.

The category winners were:
Heritage and Environment: Mid-Canterbury SPCA
Health and Well Being: St Vincent de Paul - Ashburton Branch
Arts and Culture: Mid-Canterbury Children's Theatre
Sport and Leisure: Tinwald Cycling Club
Educational and Child/Youth Development: Ashburton Cadet Unit

NEW ZEALAND EVENTS
Matariki - the Aotearoa Pacific New Year
24 June 2009, Awanui, Far North
Matariki celebrates the diversity of life. It's a celebration of culture, language, spirit and people. In the Far North, Matariki Muriwhenua 2009 will be a month-long festival. As part of this celebration they are profiling the wonderful work done by volunteers, essential in isolated, rural communities. The campaign will leverage off Matariki and is named 'Volunteers are Stars'. Gold stars can be bought (with a small donation) at any of the six local banks. For further information contact 09 408 7889 or info [at] farnorthmatariki [dot] co [dot] nz

INTERNATIONAL EVENTS
12th IAVE Asia Pacific Regional Volunteer Conference
26-29 November 2009 Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Workshop proposals deadline: 1 July 2009
A call has been made for workshop proposals to be presented at Asia Pacific IAVE conference being hosted by IAVE Taiwan and Kaohsiung City Volunteer Association. "Volunteerism as a Lifestyle for Social Solidarity" will be the theme for the conference and there will be six streams for which workshops are sought.
1. Volunteer Management in the Large Scale Event
2. Corporate Volunteering and Its Impact on Asia Pacific Society
3. Volunteerism and Information Communication Technology (ICTs)
4. Volunteering within the Asian Pacific Region of Culture Diversity
5. National Volunteer Centers
6. International Volunteering
A youth forum will also be held as part of the conference. For further information on sending proposals for the workshops and registration visit http://iave.npotech.org.tw or e-mail iave [dot] 2009 [at] gmail [dot] com.

Building Community Centred Economy
17-20 June 2009, Brisbane, Australia
The conference focuses on the importance of building community-centred economies using community development methodologies. This is a timely and universally critical theme that recognises the interconnectedness of economic, social and environmental issues.
The main conference theme has been broken down into several themed subjects: Building Sustainable Livelihoods; Promoting Human Scale Economies; Engaging and Leveraging Community Development Finance; Exploring Government / Corporate / Community Relationships; Protecting the Right to Local Security and Sovereignty; Breaking New Ground on Old Issues.
For further information visit www.cdconference.com.au.

International Not-For-Profit Convention & Exhibition
11-13 November 2009 Sunshine Coast, Australia
This event brings you three days of essential learning for these changing times. With brilliant peer-networking, valuable professional development and organisational capacity building opportunities in a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere INCE09 represents a prime growth opportunity. Check it out on www.nfpn.com.au.

2009 US National Conference on Volunteering and Service
22-24 June, San Francisco, USA
The 2009 National Conference on Volunteering and Service, co-convened by Points of Light Institute/HandsOn Network (POLI/HON) and the Corporation for National and Community Service, will provide the opportunities to learn, connect and be inspired. This year's theme is "Civic. Energy. Generation.". Martin J Cowling will have a display stand at the conference and everyone is encouraged to visit and say hello. For more information, visit www.volunteeringandservice.org.

Giving and Volunteering Research Conference
9 July 2009, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
The Department of Philanthropic Studies at VU University, Amsterdam is hosting this conference to foster co-operation and the exchange of ideas between academic researchers and practitioners from the philanthropic sector. Paper proposals are due by 1 May, with full papers due by 25 June 2009. If you are interested in presenting a paper, contact r [dot] bekkers [at] fsw [dot] vu [dot] nz or read more about the conference online at www.ngopulse.org or www.giving.nl/.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS
New approaches - instant volunteering
In an age of instant everything here's a new take on volunteering - via the mobile phone and an US based group called The Extraordinaries" has developed what they describe as a new approach to volunteering.

Their mission is to convert spare time into social good via a mobile phone application (which is still being fine tuned). The Co-Founders of The Extraordinaries are Jacob Colker and Ben Rigby who say they have developed micro volunteering opportunities via an i-phone that can be done in just 20 minutes.

The application is set to deliver short, simple, and on-demand volunteer opportunities. According to their website these opportunities can involve volunteering to help transcribe the subtitles for human rights videos or help NASA mapping craters on the surface of Mars!!!!

You can get a taste of how it will work on Youtube. Check it out at www.youtube.com/theextraordinaries or visit their website www.theextraordinaries.org.

UK volunteer manager training fund cut by £1m
Source: Third Sector Online
A long-awaited fund to provide training for volunteer managers in the UK will distribute £1m less than first promised. The Office of the Third Sector (OTS) said it would provide £3m rather than the £4m promised last year to support and train volunteer managers. The missing £1m will be diverted into the third sector action plan.

The fund, set up in response to Manifesto for Change, a report by the Commission on the Future of Volunteering, will be distributed by infrastructure body Capacitybuilders from the summer.

Debbie Usiskin, vice-chair of the Association of Volunteer Managers, said she was unsurprised but disappointed by the funding cut. "The need for specific and effective training is urgent," she said.

The fund is part of a £6.6m package of volunteer funds unveiled by the OTS this week. It has set up a £2m, two-year fund for charities aimed at helping disabled people overcome barriers to volunteering; this was also promised in response to Manifesto for Change. The tender process to run the fund opens this week.

The OTS has also announced a £1.6m, two-year fund to build a "volunteering legacy" from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

New £9million fund to encourage sixth-formers to volunteer
Source: Third Sector Online
Youth volunteering charity V is launching a £9 million fund to encourage students at sixth-form colleges to do voluntary work. The programme is the latest strand in the government-backed organisation's Talent Year programme, a national volunteering programme to match young volunteers with placements in the public sector.

The new programme, called Talent Year FE, will support one volunteer in each of 32 colleges for two years to set up new volunteering programmes for students and act as a champion for voluntary work.

The 'champions' will not be paid but it is expected that they will receive personal development grants to help with education or training costs. It is likely that they will be local people aged between 16 and 25 who are not in employment, education or training, such as university graduates struggling to find work.

The new volunteering schemes will include mentoring and buddying systems for hard-to-reach young people, learning support services and projects supporting the transition from school to further education.

Wales government invests in youth volunteers
Source: Third Sector Online
The Welsh Assembly Government has opened a £405,000 fund to support youth volunteering and says it will give 16-25 year-olds a say in how it is spent.

The fund, from the Department for Social Justice and Local Government, will offer grants of up to £10,000 to organisations setting up new youth volunteering projects and up to £5,000 for groups promoting volunteering opportunities to young people.

The fund will be run through GwirVol, a partnership of 20 organisations from the public, private and voluntary sectors, administered by the Wales Council for Voluntary Action. The body will be led by GwirForce, a panel of young people that promotes volunteering opportunities in Wales. The panel is supported by youth volunteer advisers in Welsh local authorities.

$10.3 million boost for Australian volunteering
Fifty Volunteer Resource Centres around Australia will benefit from $10.3 million in Australian Government funding to support a skilled, well-trained and well-resourced volunteer workforce.

This was announced by the Minister for Community Services, Jenny Macklin, and Parliamentary Secretary for Social Inclusion and the Voluntary Sector, Ursula Stephens during the National Volunteer Week which took place from 11 - 17 May 2009.

They said this funding will provide support to the Volunteer Resource Centres over the next two years. It will help enhance skills, training and resources in the volunteer sector and improve the capacity of the non-profit sector to deliver training to the volunteers.

Nationally, more than five million people volunteer their time to a range of organisations. Volunteering makes a significant contribution to the Australian economy and has an estimated value of around $42 billion annually.

Volunteer wave in England to benefit employability
Eighty-seven per cent of the country's 350 volunteer centres have seen an increase in enquiries in the past six months, according to Volunteering England's latest research. At Northampton Volunteering Centre, for example, 553 face-to-face discussions took place to match volunteers with placements between October and December, compared with 279 over the same period in 2007.

The survey results showed that:

87% of Volunteer Centres have seen an increase in enquiries about volunteering opportunities in the last six months.
72% of Volunteer Centres expect to carry out work directly involving employability and training in the future.
86% of employers rank 'positive attitude' and 'employability' in their top three demands (here 'employability' means specific skills such as team-working and communication).
61% of volunteers think that having the opportunity to learn new skills is an important benefit of volunteering.
One of the key findings was that volunteering offers a unique opportunity to strengthen employability - through the flexibility of roles on offer, the people-centred support received by volunteers and the practical experience it can give individuals. The research reaffirms that the relationship between volunteering and employability is not straightforward. It is important to recognise that it is heavily dependent upon the nature of the volunteering role, the needs of the volunteer, the support they receive from Volunteer Centres and the organisations they volunteer with. Further information is available from www.ivr.org.uk.

'Seek' seeks volunteers in Australia
If you haven't already seen it, check it out now - it's a new initiative by Seek job searching portal on the other side of the Tasman promoting volunteering. www.volunteer.com.au .

RESOURCES and EDUCATION/PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
With Volunteer Awareness Week in mind, we have assembled couple of inspirational pieces: Susan Ellis is talking this month on how a careful selection of words and topics creates miracles in recruiting and retaining volunteers. Very interesting and timely are the two items "Can do volunteering" and "Safeguarding student volunteering in the Further Education sector". They will assist those wanting to involve students or youth with disabilities in their programme. They cover a whole range of aspects from why to how to involve these young volunteers. Have a good read!

Susan's Tip of the Month: It's All about Communication
by Susan J. Ellis
Perhaps no activity is more important to volunteer management than communication, which is critical to making volunteers feel included, informed, and appreciated. We communicate all the time, even when we are not aware of the messages we send.

The way we bring new volunteers on board, for example, is all about conveying both information and a friendly tone. From our screening interview to orientation and training, and in written manuals and instruction sheets, we are saying more things than simple content. Do we jump right into rules and regulations or do we take a moment (or a page) for a warm welcome? Do we show that we take volunteer contributions seriously by anticipating good questions and providing useful responses?

Throughout the year we hold meetings (one-on-one and with groups; formal and informal), run events, send e-mails (individually or blasted to everyone), and ask for responses to surveys and questionnaires. And each communicates on different levels. Pay attention to all your opening and closing statements and consistently thank volunteers for their time and efforts. Explain the context of any information, since it's easy for volunteers to feel "out of the loop," especially those who do their service away from your central office or online.

Set up a routine feedback cycle by asking specific questions ("do you have an idea where I might find...?") rather than vague "what do you think?" questions -- and always make sure you report back the results of what you were told! If you want volunteers (and paid staff) to take your missives seriously, you have to prove that you read their responses. Begin the next meeting or e-mail with something like "thanks to the 27 of you who gave me such excellent leads, including _______________." Do this every time and people will be much more likely to keep responding.

Things to Consider
While it's true that even something like the way your office looks (cosy, cluttered, dark, whatever) sends a message, most of the time you will be intentional about wanting to communicate something. Is the message bad or great news? Is it something open for discussion or out of your hands? How quickly do people need to know it? Here are a few more questions to consider as you decide how to communicate:

What do you want or need to say?
Is it routine or special?
Is the recipient an individual, a limited group, or the public?
What's the tone you want to convey?
Is it one-way or two-way communication? (Announcements vs. information needing a response.)
Will you make a record of the discussion and/or any decisions?
What response or feedback do you most want and have you clearly asked for that?
How long should it be?
How will you highlight the most important parts to help the reader or listener pay most attention to those?
What's the follow-up plan?
What would a volunteer feel as well as know after getting this communication?
The more personal the communication seems to be, the better. A handwritten note is the most appreciated of all. And remember to always include an e-mail address or phone number where someone can contact you to ask questions or make comments.

Involving young disabled people into volunteering
Extract from "Can do volunteering" guide***
Why become more inclusive?
For young disabled people, volunteering is an important opportunity to:

Do something worthwhile
Demonstrate their capabilities
Develop self awareness and confidence
Gain work experience
Get involved and meet new people
Challenge attitudes to disability
Get their voice heard
Try something new and have fun
For young people, leaving education and starting out on their adult lives can
be a stressful time. For disabled people, such transitions can be even
more challenging. They may find themselves leaving a residential school and moving into independent living where they will need to make informed choices about services they receive. Volunteering can be helpful during transition: in building confidence; in making friends and contacts; in providing opportunities for new experiences; and in giving structure and continuity during times of change and upheaval.

10 top tips from young disabled volunteers:
1. Concentrate on ability rather than disability
2. Listen to the volunteer (they understand their impairment best)
3. Remember what the volunteer can do for you, not what you can do for them
4. Be clear and consistent about the role and the volunteers responsibility to the organisation
5. Be prepared to have some flexibility around role descriptions
6. Think outside the box
7. Check communication requirements
8. Address negative attitudes towards disability (eg. of staff, other volunteers, clients)
9. Prepare to challenge and to be challenged
10. Make sure that young disabled volunteers feel part of the team

To access the complete publication please visit www.lcdisability.org/?lid=3671

New resource on student volunteering
Volunteering England's new publication, 'Safeguarding student volunteering in the Further Education sector' has been launched to support colleges in assisting more vulnerable adults and students under the age of eighteen to volunteer. This publication highlights how institutions can take practical steps to safeguard their students to volunteer both on and off campus, with a particular focus on how to develop partnerships with volunteer involving organisations to provide volunteering placements.
The publication is available for free download from VE website.

Volunteer Management Education Books for Sale
Volunteering NZ has for sale copies of four books written by Linda Graff on developing policies and risk management for volunteering programmes. The titles and prices are:

Best of All - Quick reference Guide to Best Practice $46.00
Better Safe - Risk Management for Volunteer Programmes $46.00
Beyond Police Checks - Screening Guidebook $46.00
By Definition - Policies for Volunteer Programmes $36.00

We also have copies of Mary Woods' book
Volunteers, A guide for Volunteers an their Organisations $25.00

Postage and Handling
Up to 2 publications $5.50 3 or more publication $10.00

All the prices are GST inclusive.

Posters and other promotional suitable for Volunteer Awareness Week as well as general promotions and recruiting volunteers are available free from VNZ.

ends

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Volunteering New Zealand

Leaders of Volunteering

Volunteering New Zealand (VNZ) is an association of New Zealand organisations that have a commitment to volunteering, such as volunteer centres, national and other organisations.

Volunteering New Zealand's mission is to promote, support and advocate for volunteering.

Contact Volunteering New Zealand

• Website - volunteeringnz.org.nz
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• Phone - +64 4 470 6006
• Media Contact - office@volunteeringnz.org.nz
• Postal Address - PO Box 27302, Wellington 6141