Volunteering Central Coast (VCC) held a celebration at Norah Head Lighthouse Reserve last week to celebrate International Volunteer Day (IVD) on December 5 and recognise this year’s National Volunteer Week Central Coast winner, Tony Ward. He commenced volunteering at Wayside Chapel in the 1980s and was also President of his local primary school P&C committee where he organised logistics for environmental workshops for many years. Ward had a stroke on Australia Day 2016, losing his speech and his ability to read and write. Despite this he volunteered at the Norah Head Lighthouse Reserve as soon as he was fit enough to walk. He lives at Toukley and walks 3km to the Lighthouse Reserve every Tuesday and Friday to volunteer. He also gives time to the Norah Head Coast Care Volunteers weeding and replanting native plants on Bush Street Reserve, the Norah Head Cemetery and the Jenny Dixon Beach Reserve. Click the link below to read more... https://coastcommunitynews.com.au/central-coast/news/2022/12/tony-is-national-volunteer-week-central-coast-winner/

Category: Volunteer of the Year 2022 Winner: Tony Ward Volunteer Organisation: Norah Head Lighthouse Reserve Tony Ward commenced volunteering at Wayside Chapel in the 1980s and was also Present of local primary school P&C. He organised logistics for environmental workshops for many years. Tony had a stroke on Australia Day 2016 where he lost his speech and his ability to read and write. Despite this Tony volunteered at the Norah Head Lighthouse Reserve as soon as he was fit enough to walk. He tackled stabilising the steep slopes on the Reserve by hammering 1-metre-longstakes into the slope, placing kopper logs behind the stakes and then planting out with Lomandra. Tony lives in Toukley and walks 3klms+ out to the Lighthouse Reserve on every Tuesday and Friday to volunteer. In addition to the Norah Head Lighthouse Reserve, Tony Ward also volunteers with the local Norah Head Coast Care Volunteers weeding and replanting native plants on Bush Street Reserve, the Norah Head Cemetery and the Jenny Dixon Beach Reserve.

Volunteering Central Coast’s National Volunteer Week Central Coast Awards is an important part of the year in the recognition of individuals who devote their time, energy and enthusiasm as volunteers in the Central Coast Community. Categories include Volunteer of the year, Young Volunteer, Volunteer Team and ‘Living Legend’ Volunteer (10 or more years of service) as well as Excellence in Volunteer Managers and Corporate Volunteers for 2021. The theme for this year’s National Volunteering week was ‘Recognise. Reconnect. Reimagine’, and it certainly reflects the experience we have at Volunteering Central Coast of a resurgence in people wanting to volunteer and volunteer involving organisations seeking new volunteers after a hiatus of COVID restrictions, and reconnecting with their loyal volunteers from years past. “The Judges were looking for how volunteers personified VCC’s message about volunteering – ‘Helping people, changing lives’ We feel that the real winners are the organisations and communities in which all our nominees volunteer! Indeed, the people of the Central Coast are very generous with their time, skills and hearts with a higher percentage of people volunteering here that in Greater Sydney, over 46,000 people volunteer, and we get to meet many of them at Volunteering Central Coast. This year, the 2021 NVW Award face-to-face presentations were held on Wednesday 26 May at the Erina Centre, and we were very happy to have the finalists from our 2020 NVW Awards also join us to be able to present their certificates in person.” Said Fiona Morrison, Executive Officer of Volunteering Central Coast. “The awards were presented by Member for Terrigal, Adam Crouch, Member for Wyong, David Harris, Administrator Central Coast Council, Rik Hart, Emma Gilbert of Dept. Communities and Justice and VCC Board members, Chairperson Randal Tame, Dr Jacqui Larkin and Andrew Cordwell” VCC are showcasing each winner with a once in a lifetime opportunity to be recognised for their endeavours in their own community, on their website this week ( www.volunteeringcentralcoast.org.au ) , and VCC will also arrange for a professional photo of each volunteer award winner in their volunteering role. The Award Winners’ portraits from each of the years 2018 to 2020 are currently on exhibition at the Erina Centre Foyer.

Lee and Colleen. Photo: Amanda Brook Lee is 103 years old, legally blind and has lived in aged care at Killarney Vale for 12 years. She has knitted and donated more than 2,000 trauma teddies for the ambulance service. Lee and Colleen have been friends since May 2017, after Colleen decided to volunteer her time visiting an older person in aged care. “At first I was concerned that I would be imposing myself on someone, but really, I needn’t have worried,” Colleen said. They are both part of the Volunteering Central Coast Community Visitors Scheme (CVS) which has just had a $28,000 financial boost from the Federal Government. Health Minister, Greg Hunt, said he recognised the significant impact that CVS volunteers had on the wellbeing of older citizens since it started in 1992. This volunteer program has been particularly important during the past year of Covid restrictions on aged care facilities, and Volunteering Central Coast (VCC) volunteers have used all manner of ways to remain connected, sending cards and gifts, and telephoning their older friends, providing a lifeline of connection during this distressing time of social isolation. VCC has received additional funds to be able to enhance these connections using tablets or iPads to enable video calls between the older resident and their visitor, as well as being a source of connection to the internet, mind gym apps, music and more. “Community visitor volunteers commit to visiting their matched resident friend at least once a fortnight,” said Toni Trent, the CVS Co-ordinator at VCC. “Visits are spent doing something that both the visitor and the resident enjoy, you might want to read, listen to music, chat and reminisce, or watch a favourite TV program together, go for a walk or an outing,” she said. The new funds will enable these activities to expand with new volunteers exploring the opportunities of being connected to the internet, ancestry searches, online games or touring the world via Google Earth. Volunteering Central Coast is the local Volunteer Resource Centre and the lead agency for Volunteer Support Services for the Central Coast region. It provides volunteer support services to individuals and volunteer involving organisations across the region and has represented the volunteer sector here for almost 40 years. The Coast has more than 36,000 formal volunteers and many more that volunteer occasionally or help out in a crisis. VCC co-ordinates the delivery of the CVS program on the Coast and also provides nearly 50 volunteers to visit older people, providing friendship and companionship. Visits are available to anyone receiving government-subsidised residential aged care or Home Care Packages. There is a particular focus on older people that have little contact with friends or relatives, are feeling isolated from their culture and heritage, have mobility issues that prevent them from taking part in social or leisure activities or are different in some way. Executive Officer at Volunteering Central Coast, Fiona Morrison, said the Community Visitors Scheme showed how volunteers personified VCC’s message about volunteering, Helping People, Changing Lives. “Volunteering brings people together for many reasons and we are so proud to have a wonderful team of our volunteers giving back to those most isolated in our community, especially the perseverance we have seen in the challenges that they have faced to maintain contact with the resident they have befriended during the Covid restrictions that have seen some aged care facilities in lockdown for six months,” she said. This article also appeared in the Hunter & Coastal Lifestyle Magazine in May 2021 https://hunterlifestyle.com.au/2021/05/central-coast-the-gift-of-giving-back/

Many charities have experienced a shakeup, as coronavirus forces their older volunteer base into isolation. But some of those who lost their jobs in the pandemic, are rolling up their sleeves. Click the link below (courtesy of NBN News Central Coast) to watch our full news story... https://www.nbnnews.com.au/2020/05/15/central-coast-volunteers-adapt-to-covid-19/

The Volunteering Expo this week held by Volunteering Central Coast has been postponed from 27 May 2020 to 4 November due to the COVI-19 restrictions on public events. This annual event hosts over 40 Community organisations that showcase their activities and the volunteering opportunities available as well as attracting over 400 people looking to volunteer. The Expo is usually held to coincide with National Volunteer Week and an important part of the event is recognition of individuals who devote their time, energy and enthusiasm as volunteers in the Central Coast Community through the VCC National Volunteer Week Central Coast Awards presentations. Categories include Volunteer of the year, Young Volunteer, Volunteer Team and ‘Living Legend’ Volunteer (10 or more years of service) as well as Excellence in Volunteer Managers and Corporate Volunteers for 2020. “The theme for this year’s National Volunteering week was ‘Changing Communities, Changing Lives’ , and it’s apparent that all the award nominations have made a great difference!” said Fiona Morrison, Executive Officer of Volunteering Central Coast. “Indeed, the people of the Central Coast are very generous with their time, skills and hearts with a higher percentage of people volunteering here that in Greater Sydney, over 46,000 people volunteer, and we get to meet many of them at Volunteering Central Coast.” The Judges were looking for how volunteers personified VCC’s message about volunteering – ‘Helping people, changing lives’ VCC are showcasing each winner with a once in a lifetime opportunity to be recognised for their endeavours in their own community, on their website this week (www.volunteeringcentralcoast.org.au ), and will present the awards in person at the Expo in November. VCC will also present a professional photo of each volunteer award winner in their role to the lucky nominee. However, Fiona added, “I feel that the real winners are the organisations and communities in which all our nominees volunteer!” Category: Volunteer of the Year 2020

Volunteering Central Coast (VCC) is an incorporated association and registered charity based on the NSW Central Coast. Our central purpose is to enable community engagement, inclusion and growth through quality volunteering. We are currently seeking to invite suitable applicants to apply to join the Board of this highly valued organisation. If you are interested please email board1@volcc.org.au or call our main office on 02 4329 7122 for a Board Recruitment Pack which includes an overview of the purpose and commitments of VCC, a brief history of the organisation, an outline of the current strategic plan as well as an application form. CLICK HERE to find out information about this position. CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS: 30 August 2019

From lending a hand in the kitchen to lending a voice on the radio – tens of thousands of Central Coast residents give their time to their community without expecting anything in return. This National Volunteer Week, support organisations are encouraging MORE people to have a go – and there’s something for everyone.

To showcase the great variety of volunteering opportunities and share the multiple benefits of becoming a volunteer, you are warmly invited to participate in our annual Volunteering Expos