We love volunteers!

Gippsport and Volunteering Gippsland have teamed up to turbo charge volunteering in Gippsland as a part of FOBI.

Gippsport recently hosted an event on how to support organisations that rely on volunteers, and how to effectively engage with volunteers.

The collaborative workshop focused on encouraging and recognising volunteers, offering practical strategies for improvement and ways to effectively coordinate volunteers. The event brought together individuals, community groups, sporting organisations, government bodies, and non-profits to discuss and workshop challenges and opportunities for volunteer engagement.

We learnt that community organisations weren't necessarily signalling that they're safe for First Nations volunteers. Unpacking this issue, it became clear that organisations often feel unsure about how to approach this, were often uninformed, and afraid of making mistakes.

The proposed solution (not groundbreaking but practical) - collecting existing information on First Nations engagement and tailoring it to our region. This information will be compiled on the Volunteering Gippsland webpage alongside a 10-step guide for Gippsland organisations on engaging with First Nations volunteers. Check it out.

This workshop was part of the Festival of Big Ideas 2024 and coincided with National Volunteer Week. Win-win.