Why Do People Volunteer with us at Meerilinga?

 

Diane Menzies is a mum with grown up twin boys who is volunteering at our Kingsley Early Learning Program.

Now many people who are in the thick of raising multiple children will ask, “What are you doing, you are free now to get up when you want, shower without anyone walking in demanding to know where their odd sock or the Weetbix are. Free to walk across floor in bare feet smug you wont step on a piece of the globe’s most insidious injurer of parent, Lego! Why are you going back into the fray voluntarily?!

According to Di its because young children are simply so wonderfully uncomplicated, fun, kind and they come with a sense of wonder she just loves to reconnect with.  Di gets her little kid fix by volunteering at our Kingesly ELP each week and says its her idea of heaven. She says she’s not ready for grandchildren yet and this is the perfect way to spend time with children and help be part of their future. When we visited the centre on Wednesday she was in the middle of the sandpit involved in some serious imagination play with the ELP children and loving it and we were impressed with her building skills and tenacity under fire from the three year olds and their dump trucks.

Over the years hundreds of people have volunteered with us and volunteering is a huge part of the Meerilinga community, we have rebuilt centres with the help of volunteers run Children’s Week and worked with families to change lives for the better. In Western Australia alone its estimated that the volunteer ‘workforce’  contributes around 288 million hours of unpaid work to the community each year worth up to $9.4 billion. Volunteering empowers individuals, adds value to not-for-profit organisations and strengthens communities.

We have a whole raft of opportunities for volunteers within Meerilinga  from gardening and light handyman work, to community support work and leading workshops for families.

https://www.facebook.com/Meerilinga/videos/1833802003356672/

 

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO START VOLUNTEERING  BESIDES A PASSION FOR KIDS?

2 references and a Working With Children Check are essential. A National Police clearance is also required but we  complete this and submit it for our potential volunteers once they have come in for an interview.   Once documentation is received and criteria is checked, everything is sent to our CEO for approval. All our volunteers go through a wonderful Induction/Orientation process to assist our volunteers and a comprehensive ongoing training and development program if needed, which includes the occasional morning tea!

 

We would love to hear from you and have you as part of our team. Call Pat Hope our fabulous Co-Ordinator of the volunteers for any more information.