General Manager's Report 2011
The continuing uncertain economic outlook, and its constraints on our operating budget, continues to compel us to look for fresh and innovative ways of both recruiting volunteers and to promote our services. In this respect the continuing development and enhancement of our website has improved accessibility to volunteering information for volunteers and those organisations wishing to take advantage of Volunteering Auckland's services. A further step in the promotion of our services is the appointment of Kym Burke as our Team Volunteering Programme Coordinator (more about this later).
Perhaps the most significant area of our work has been in the development and building of relationships with Auckland's broad range of migrant communities. Volunteering Auckland has been making positive moves to reach out into the city's migrant ethnic communities. VA has increased contact with migrant and refugee communities to support their volunteer engagement processes. This increased contact has included hosting two forums for migrant and refugee organisations working with members of their communities displaced by the Christchurch earthquakes, assisting with the production of a video showcasing volunteering by New Zealanders and shown on YouTube and Korean television's KBS- New Zealand Tribune, presentations to the Korean women's network on volunteering, and liaising with Auckland International College (AIC) to encourage and support volunteering by Asian students. This particular contact was especially successful with teams composed of up to 50 students over 5 days involved in the North Shore City Council's tree planting days.
Our website development is continuing with Phase 3 set to be scoped as this report was being prepared. The development of this phase will allow online referrals to volunteer roles and for members to upload volunteer roles. Phase 2 greatly enhanced members', and the general public's, accessibility to information on volunteering and volunteering opportunities within the greater Auckland region. However, development of Phase 3 is heavily dependent on funding being available and this cannot be guaranteed given the current economic climate.
The demand for VA's advisory and training services in good practice volunteer management continues to grow with the establishment of a peer group looking at professional development for managers, coordinators and leaders of volunteers.
One heartening note in these difficult times is the increase in TVP registrations, with 818 individual registrations to December 2010 against 216 for the same period the previous year. There was, however a slight dip in the number of One-Day Community Projects completed (44 as against 47 for the same period the previous year). This drop should be remedied by the appointment of our new TVP Coordinator, Kym Burke, who has already made great strides in this area since her appointment.
As a final note I am looking forward to the work being looked at by the Auckland Social Policy Forum established in March this year and, initially, jointly chaired by the Minister for Social Development, Paula Bennett, and Auckland Mayor, Len Brown, in particular the role that volunteering can play. This Forum brings together Auckland Council, community leaders and government agencies to work collaboratively on social issues and to tackle some of the key issues facing people living in Auckland and to build strong communities within our city. Volunteering can have an influence on how we live, participate, earn income, and integrate as citizens of Aotearoa/NZ. I believe that volunteering can be part of the “solution” to many of the issues that our society is facing today and that volunteering is an important part of Aotearoa/NZ’s past, present and future.
Cheryll Martin , General Manager
