Thursday, 3 August 2023

Eastern Volunteers

Will FOWLES (Ringwood) (17:24): (278) My adjournment matter is directed to the Minister for Disability, Ageing and Carers in the other place, and the action I seek is for the minister to join me in a visit to the Eastern Volunteers headquarters in Ringwood to discuss the application of their newly announced volunteer grant. The opportunity both given and created by volunteer work is vast and with decent support can be the backbone of a close-knit community like mine. Being a volunteer allows people to become actively involved in the community they live in, picking up some incredible work skills, networks, future job opportunities and plenty of karma. Be it through essential care like in the Biala special needs childcare facility or the Royal Flying Doctor van service that both operate in my electorate, volunteer programs are simply an invaluable asset to people, and we cannot thank them enough for the work that they do. We could start to thank them, however, by providing funding to volunteer groups to sustain their work, which is why this year’s budget does exactly that.

I was proud to announce a $60,000 grant being delivered to the Eastern Volunteers services group, which has dedicated itself to volunteer groups and small businesses for 30 years right in the heart of my electorate of Ringwood. This funding will go towards many new initiatives designed to strengthen the quality and quantity of volunteers and the opportunities volunteer work creates. This funding will be used to recruit and retain people from the Eastern Volunteers central volunteer bank, who are relied on by over 690 organisations, including health services, community sport and environmental and animal causes, and who even make Victorian attractions like Puffing Billy possible. This $60,000 grant will allow the central volunteer bank’s commitment to more than double from 7 hours a week to 15. Not only that, it will also target key priority groups for training and recruitment, such as young people looking for work experience that puts them in the career they want – and the same for parents returning to the workforce; people living with a disability; and Victorians with English as their second language. This grant expands the invaluable opportunities provided by volunteer work, such as by the great people at Eastern Volunteers. I look forward to talking strategy with them, and I hope the minister will join me in that great adventure.