Community service needs more help

Country people are being encouraged to join a fun and valued network of volunteers increasing the impact of local charity ac.care and directly supporting vulnerable people.

Volunteers are being sought to support ac.care’s service delivery at our Mount Gambier and Millicent community centres, which provide valuable day-to-day opportunities for vulnerable people.

Duties include preparing food and drinks for community members, managing collection and display of donations, supporting the upkeep of gardens and surrounds, as well as end-of-stay cleaning of emergency accommodation homes.

The call for volunteers coincides with the launch of a short video celebrating the contribution volunteers make to ac.care and highlighting why these everyday people have stepped up to make an extraordinary contribution to their communities.

Community centre volunteers have shared their thoughts in a new 90-second video on ac.care’s Facebook page.

Revealing their motivations and positive impacts volunteerism has made in their lives, volunteers highlighted helping people and contributing to ensuring everyone has access to nutritious food as common themes for why they contribute, as well as being part of the community.

“People need to be fed and sadly a lot of people around here go without,” John said.

“We will feed (visitors) every chance we get – it is a good feeling to help people.”

Alicia said she applied to become a volunteer to give back to her community and was also motivated due to her own experiences receiving support in the past.

Mandy said volunteering at a community centre had been a good way to meet people, adding it was rewarding to know she could improve someone’s day simply by making a coffee, sandwich or having a chat.

“It fills up my cup as well as hopefully filling up theirs,” Mandy said.

“I am going to keep doing it until I can’t anymore.”

ac.care community services regional manager Sue Watt encouraged community members to contact the agency and discuss how they could support the delivery of quality services to the community.

“If you have specific skills or expertise and the desire and time to support your community, we are always seeking new and innovative ways to support our clients, on top of the vital service delivery work that benefits from volunteer contributions,” Ms Watt said.

“This could include opportunities for social engagement and empowering community members to secure tenancies or develop invaluable employability skills.

“You would not only join our wonderful network of volunteers, but you would work alongside our dedicated staff to increase the impact of ac.care for country people in need.”

ac.care is seeking volunteers to help collect daily donations of food, including fruit, vegetables and bread, and to place out in the centre for collection by community members.

Volunteers are also needed to help maintain the community garden, including upkeep of the garden beds and surrounding plants, as well as supporting the homelessness service team with cleaning of emergency and transitional housing.

To discuss volunteering with ac.care visit www.accare.org.au, email [email protected] or call 1300 ACCARE (1300 222 273).