VOLUNTEERING

VOLUNTEERING: "WISDOM AND SERVICE"..."GIVE HAPPY LIVE HAPPY"

There are over six million volunteers lending a helping hand across Australia. I'm guessing there are over six million different reasons why those people put up their hands to volunteer. 

Some people volunteer because they are thankful for a good life and want to give back to their community; some find themselves with spare time and search for unpaid work; others make connections because of intensely personal circumstances. 

I stumbled into volunteering by accident.

Every year over 400 people generously give their time to keep the wheels turning at McKinnon Secondary College.

Curious to learn about individual efforts I took a 'straw poll' last week and a sample of the responses follows:

CATHERINE GREEN

Catherine (married to Assistant Principal, Lachlan Noble) is a voluntary helper with The Lighthouse Foundation. The Lighthouse vision is to end youth homelessness. Over the past 24 years more than 750 young people have successfully broken the cycle of homelessness with the support of Lighthouse Foundation. 

Catherine wanted to become a volunteer in her spare time, preferring to work in the area of disadvantaged youth so she started to investigate.

"Once I learned about the Lighthouse Foundation's model of care, it just made sense to me. I believe it is one of the best out there with the longest lasting and most effective results for the people it helps. So I got involved." 

She has been a member of the Lighthouse Foundation East Malvern committee for five years and committee Chair for two years. 

Each of the eleven Lighthouse homes across Victoria has an associated committee that raises money to keep the home running - literally to pay for food, bills etc. Forthcoming events organised by Catherine and her committee include a movie night in July, a pre Grand Final footy clinic in September and a cocktail night in October. Details can be found on the website http://lighthousefoundation.org.au/  

"Volunteering for Lighthouse means a huge amount to me. As I am sure is the case with many people who volunteer, I think I get more out of it than Lighthouse does! We have a wonderful committee who all get along really well and love working together, but most importantly to see the young people thrive in the Lighthouse model of care is an absolute privilege. 

"The work of the committee is twofold. Firstly it is to raise funds. It's not glamorous or touchy-feely but the reality is money is what is needed to run these homes. There are up to four young people in the house at any one time plus a full time carer, so as you can imagine it is expensive to run! Secondly we are a support to the young people and the carer in the East Malvern house. These young people come from backgrounds of abuse and neglect and are homeless as a result of that - they can no longer live in their homes. So they have a lot of trust issues and have often grown up believing that no one in the world actually cares about them. By us raising money, having dinner with them, organising birthday and Christmas presents and just being constant and present, we show them that there are people that care about them". 

GEOFF WOOLNOUGH

Geoff has very fond memories of growing up in the McKinnon Secondary College environment and is proud that he's still associated with the community 44 years after leaving school! Initially he joined the Thistlelonians as an ex-student and after regularly attending meetings over time he became more involved.

As President of the Thistlelonians, Geoff is on the McKinnon Secondary College Council which gives a voice to the 15,000 plus ex-students and staff. Currently he liaises with the committee of volunteers, the Administrator and the College.

Geoff remarks "Our committee members and volunteers come from a wide variety of backgrounds - both personal and business - and this allows for a great pool of ideas when we are organising our main activities - reunions, awarding scholarships and communication of College news to ex-students and staff".

PAUL KING

Physical Education teacher, Paul has 131 students in the Duke of Edinburgh program. They need to complete volunteer service to meet the requirements of the award. The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award program gives young people of all abilities the opportunity to volunteer in their community, develop their skills and join in physical activities. One hundred and thirty one individual adventures!

JASON MONCRIEFF

A desire to help his community was the motivator for Year 12 student Jason Moncrieff to offer his services to St. John Ambulance. He also saw the opportunity to test whether being a Paramedic would be the right career for him. 

Currently a Senior Cadet Corporal, Jason is accredited as a First Aider and is working towards his National First Responder accreditation. He's already notched up an impressive 125 hours of service often present at special events such as the State A.N.Z.A.C. Day parade, Ironman Melbourne, Australian Open Tennis and the Around the Bay in a Day Bike Ride. 

Jason attends weekly training meetings, and is on duty whenever possible. He'll be spending part of his next term break training to become a Cadet Leader.

Whether providing first aid to the public or acting as a communications operator in the command team, he's often in attendance at large events at Melbourne's major sporting venues. 

Jason enjoys the sense of satisfaction he gets from treating people and watching them leave all the better for his treatment.  "It's an amazing feeling to know that someone has given their complete trust to you when they've only met you a few minutes before". 

The main role of a Paramedic is to respond to 000 Emergency calls and provide life-saving medical treatment. After twelve months on the job, Jason is convinced it's the way to go!

At the General Assembly in May our principal, Pitsa Binnion, spoke about Community, Service and Altruism.

"The value of ‘Community’ in our daily lives cannot be underestimated. Australia is quite exceptional - it is renowned worldwide for its people volunteering their time, effort and even money to improve the lives of others less fortunate. Every time we have a fund-raising activity, the McKinnon community digs deep into their pockets, into their hearts and donates their time and effort to helping others. 

With our large population and the generosity of spirit that is a hall-mark of this place, we raise a great deal of money that goes directly to causes that require assistance –State Schools Relief, Breast Cancer, Organ Donation, the list goes on. Today, I am reminding you of the importance of giving, of volunteering your time and effort to helping others, of the many benefits it brings to you and to others – the importance of prioritising others over yourself.

Altruism – that is: doing kind deeds for others without necessarily gaining anything in return – is a rare but very special trait that I want all McKinnon community members to aspire to. All around you, you will see many, many people volunteering their time and effort to helping you become the very best person you can be – not only for your chance of success in the future – but also to instil in you the essential trait of altruism.