April 2025
This year has taken off in a flurry of volunteering activity and natural disasters. One minute I was contemplating whether we should have some new year resolutions and the next we’re building a new volunteering platform over Teams in the middle of a cyclone in Brisbane! Our thoughts are with all of those communities significantly impacted by the rolling natural disasters across the State. Thank you to those volunteers who have come out in force to assist across their communities.
Last month we delivered our Volunteering Conference to over 200 people online and in person. Feedback indicated it was a great success and provided our delegate with practical and engaging ideas and tools to better support their volunteer programs. Look out for some follow-up webinars to deep dive into the most popular topics.
Over the past few months we have been exceptionally busy engaging with the sector and supporting organisations and individuals to share their story with the Parliamentary Inquiry into Volunteering. What a powerful vehicle this is to surface the pain points across our system and work together to turn around the decline and start growing volunteering again in Queensland.
Our Policy and Advocacy Advisor, Andrew Bartlett, and I have attended public hearings in Dalby, Toowoomba, Gympie, and the Sunshine Coast culminating in our recent appearance before the Committee in Brisbane. This was a valuable opportunity to present our key recommendations and respond to questions directly from the Committee. We left feeling optimistic that the significance of the issues facing the volunteering sector is being heard and understood. More hearings are yet to come. There are around 600 submissions listed on the Inquiry webpage which is an incredible contribution from across the sector. Read the VQ submission on our website here.
One theme that continues to emerge is how we can better attract and retain volunteers, and encourage volunteers to volunteer more. Again and again, we hear the clear message: recognition matters. Recognition is powerful — it celebrates a volunteer’s contributions, lifts morale, inspires others, and plays a vital role in keeping people engaged and involved in volunteering. There’s no better way to recognise the extraordinary volunteers in your community than by nominating them for a Queensland Volunteering Award.
This year is the 10th anniversary of the Queensland Volunteering Awards. For a decade we have been recognising the outstanding efforts of volunteers and volunteer-involving organisations across the state in this moving and uplifting celebration. I encourage you to take this special opportunity this year to have the volunteers in your community recognised by nominating them for an Award.
Nominations close Monday 14 April, so there’s still time to shine a light on the people who make a difference every day. Nominate here NOW!
Connect with Jane Hedger on Linkedin!