Spotlight on … Volunteering in Victoria

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You know what?
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I started off doing vegetables, and then I thought, you know what?
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I go around, I know all the people in my area here and I see all these people, these hairs
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that are just hanging and, oh, it looked awful.
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So I started talking to one girl and I said, look, how about if I cut your hair?
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She was working part time.
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So I went out just in front of the shop there, which wasn't busy, and I cut her hair.
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And then somebody else would see me
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and that's how it escalated to that.
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There you go, madame.
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Thank you. Let me have a look.
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Yes you may.
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A satisfaction that these people, they can look good too.
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They don't need to look all frumpy and split hairs.
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Oh, wow. That's really nice. Thank you.
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And some of these people have gone on to get jobs now.
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So, you know, this is the main idea.
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I can do that. Why not?
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Another happy customer!
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You know,
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about a month ago, I was down the city with a friend of mine
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and there was a guy rummaging through the rubbish bin
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and I was sitting at McDonald's with her, and this woman's yelling,
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Oh, look at that smelly man, how dare he come into McDonald's?
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So I went and grabbed that man and I said, sweetheart, are you hungry?
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And that woman goes, how dare you buy him food?
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He's smelly.
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We don't want him here.
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And I said, love do you know his circumstances?
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Do you understand what he's had to go through?
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Do you know why he's homeless?
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I've been homeless twice and I know what it's like.
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I came from Macedonia to Canada as a baby.
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I was very small child.
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I had a harsh life.
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I've had two decades of nothing
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but beatings.
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Very bad. Nobody...
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They just didn't acknowledge me.
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I was not a part of the family.
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At about 16 years old I ran away from home
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because I just couldn't take it anymore and lived on the streets
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and it's not a pretty sight.
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When I came here...
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It was good at the beginning and then my husband got abusive
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and I ran away from him.
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So I lived on the street here.
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I'm a peer educator.
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I talk, I do a lot of talks.
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I go all over the places. I was just now at Manor Lakes.
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I've been at Wyndham there, and, you know,
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half the time I got the people in tears like, you know, they're heartfelt,
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you know, because some of them understand what I'm going through.
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Hi, how are you?
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I want to volunteer because I wasn’t allowed to do that, any of it, when I was younger.
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I haven't got money to give people, but I can cut their hair,
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I can feed the people, I can make a sandwich for them.
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I can do all those things and that's not a problem.
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A cooked chicken as well?
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Yes.
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So you got butter over there, you got the bread there...
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You know, some people need the recognition sometimes.
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A lot of people want to be loved and be shown that somebody cares.
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Winning the awards like this and being filmed like this.
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It's a, it's like I'm somebody now.
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I'm not a nobody. I'm a somebody.
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And people listen to me and I can get out there with a passion that I have.
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I help these people.
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I actually help these people.
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And that makes my heart cry so much for goodness.

Intro
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My name's Anita.
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I'm a mother of two kids, a 12 year old and a ten year old.
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I run my own business, I’m a graphic designer,
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and in my spare time, I volunteer for my kid’s sports clubs.
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So my daughter plays AFL and my son plays soccer.
Skills
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The skills that I have brought to my volunteering is
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I use my graphic design skills for my daughter's footy club.
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I do a lot of their posters and artwork and also a newsletter.
Team Manager
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For my son's under 11’s team.
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I’m the team manager, so I have to organise parents
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and be the contact for the club and the actual team.
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So I initially got into volunteering because no one else
Why volunteer
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was putting their hand up.
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So I then said yes, someone had to do it.
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But since I've done it now for four years, I actually really enjoyed the role.
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For anyone that's not sure if they are ready to volunteer
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or don't think they have enough time.
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I think there are so many things
Conclusion
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you can do to volunteer that it can only be half an hour a week.
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It can be less sometimes in the year, let's say at the start of the season it's
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a lot more work, but generally there's not a lot that needs to go into it.
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I volunteer because I think it's a great way to be part of my kid’s lives
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and being part of what they enjoy doing and the community
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that goes along with it.

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My name is Anthony White.
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I’m a volunteer here at SES.
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I have been the controller here for the last ten years.
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I'm a self-employed
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and currently running a contract with SES with the radio program.
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What made me join the service?
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When we get called out to an actual job.,
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we knock on the door and we say, ‘Hi, I'm Anthony from the State Emergency Service.
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How can I help you?’ And the relief on that person on the other side
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is, thank God somebody is here to help me.
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And that's what I get out of that, knowing that I'm actually there
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helping that part of that community that's in need or in trouble.
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So I would say to a volunteer or person that's wanting to actually join
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as a volunteer, is that what we get out of it
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is a great sense of support for the community, need.
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You get a lot of terrific skills from the trainers here.
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And also you get to meet the same people that want to help the community.
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Something I'm very, very proud of is my three daughters are part of our unit here.
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So it's really a terrific thing to be able to get out on a job
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when they're actually out with me.
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My name's Rachel White.
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I'm 18 years old.
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I'm a full time student, as well as volunteering at the Sunbury SES.
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I'm Sam White, 23 years old, a mom of a
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one and a half year old and a full time business owner.
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SES has taught us team building, confidence,
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communication skills and we now help people on their worst days.
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For anyone thinking about volunteering, I would say just do it.
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Yeah, it's it's been life changing for both of us and it could be for you, too.
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I volunteer because I absolutely love
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the feeling of helping someone when in need.
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I volunteer because I love helping my community as well as helping here
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at the SES organise events, because, I just
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love doing it.

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I volunteer because volunteering
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has changed my life and my daughter's life.
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My name is Selba-Gondoza Luka.
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I am originally from Malawi in Central Africa.
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Afri-Aus Care is a culturally appropriate mental health organisation
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that was established by myself out of lived experiences of the African people.
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When I started the organisation, I had depression and generalised anxiety.
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When I started helping others, I saw that
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healing was very quick, like it was a speedy recovery.
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Now, I’m a public speaker. I go to conferences!
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Volunteering has helped me to bond with my daughter,
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bond with women who are in trouble and bonding with the community.
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So they come here to volunteer their hours doing some gardening,
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cooking so that we can eat.
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There’s English classes where they improve their English, build resumes,
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and then we find them jobs.
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Sometimes you can tell someone, ‘Oh, come and volunteer’.
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Immediately you mention the volunteer part, you turn off their mind.
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They have to see.
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Volunteer doesn't mean even physical work.
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Picking up a phone,
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finding out ‘How are you today?’
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Volunteering has founded real Selba. Who I am.
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I was meant to be a volunteer regardless of what.