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MSWA Bulletin Summer 16

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VOLUNTEERING UPDATE DAWN

VOLUNTEERING UPDATE DAWN BURKE, MSWA COORDINATOR OF VOLUNTEERS Ho! Ho! Ho! I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Wow! We are about to enter 2017 at full speed ahead, watch out, here we come. It’s a brand new year, which always holds new goals and opportunities for fresh beginnings. I trust this edition of Bulletin finds you all safe and well, while perhaps feeling a little bit heavier from all the good tidings that Christmas brings with it. It has been some months since I chatted with you last. There is always something that has happened or is about to happen. It amazes me how busy this role of Coordinator of Volunteers can be; I love the diversity that my job offers. I must say thank you to my Volunteers for making this a fantastic role. I enjoy working alongside each and every one of you and I always look forward to seeing you around the various locations and events along the way. Volunteering for me is all about the people, in some way, shape or form, whether it is volunteering directly with them or indirectly behind the scenes. Working in this industry is definitely all about the people, and I love working with the MSWA volunteers; you are my people! For this, and many other reasons I thank you all for what you do for MSWA and our Members and staff. You are all truly amazing and we don’t take any of you for granted. September saw another Members’ camp at Woodman’s Point. Unfortunately, I couldn’t attend however the Members and staff were fortunate enough to have two volunteers assisting throughout the four days. I would like to thank Rosalind, who is an old hand at these Members’ camps now, and a new recruit to MSWA and camps, Jacqueline. Jacqueline also travelled from Australind to join the Members in Coogee. I believe they had a wonderful time and the Members truly enjoyed their company and the assistance they provided. The staff were also thankful, as it allowed them to concentrate on the camp activities with the Members. I was lucky enough to go on the Carers Retreat in October to Busselton with Tess from the Occupational Therapy Department. This was a lovely experience and very different to a Members’ camp. It is important to acknowledge and celebrate our carers and give them the rest they deserve away from their caring role at home with their loved ones. This provides them with the opportunity to recharge their batteries to carry on their role. October also brought a very busy and extremely tiring family camp, especially for our staff. We didn’t have any volunteers for this camp, however staff, together with OT students, attended and worked well and truly above and beyond their duties and regular working hours. For them to do this involves volunteering, as they offer extra hours in a voluntary capacity. For any camp to run smoothly and be successful, it requires dedicated staff to block off a portion of their regular work week and home life to help. I would like to thank all the MSWA staff and students who give time outside of their normal hours, as do the MSWA Management and Members as well. The Melbourne Cup was here, right on the knock of 1 November. This is a huge event for MSWA at Wilson and it takes a lot of time to organise; from the luncheon to the raffles and many sweeps around the building. The numbers keep increasing for lunch each year which makes the volunteers’ day in the kitchen just that little bit busier. Thank you Rath and Priya, it was an amazingly busy day and you deserved to put your feet up and have a rest. Our volunteer resident ‘bookie’ Sheila, organised all the sweeps and kept all the punters at bay and made a few of them very happy. It wouldn’t be Melbourne Cup without the fashion and this year Rosalind, one of our volunteers, won the Best Hat competition. I didn’t see the hat myself, but if anyone knows Rosalind, I can guarantee it was red. I missed our Melbourne Cup Lunch, as I was invited to the City of Melville Volunteer Resource Centre to celebrate International Volunteer Managers Day. I’d like to thank the City of Melville and their team, Renae and Sarah for putting on such a wonderful and relaxing event. Rachel Green, Director of The Emotional Intelligence Institute took the Volunteer Managers through a morning of self-care with a focus on mindfulness meditation. Can you believe I meditated in a room full of people, with my eyes closed while walking? I was amazed no one collided through this process. The Western Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO) approached me with some complimentary tickets to an evening of ‘Stuart Skelton sings Wagner’ on 26 November. WASO wanted to acknowledge our well deserving volunteers and I’m happy to say nine of our volunteers took up this generous offer of double passes. They thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity. 28 | MSWA BULLETIN SUMMER 2016

The Members, Staff and Volunteers Christmas Party is well and truly over and done with for another year. The colour theme for this year was red and green with a touch of gold. For those who know me, you know I dressed accordingly to promote the colour theme. This time of the year gives me an excuse to prance around, dance and wave my magical ribbon as I go. I love these events and it is our way of celebrating with the Members and thanking you all for the year that has been and to recognise your time and effort. International Volunteers Day is celebrated on 5 December every year. Over the last few years I have taken a group of volunteers to the Government House Garden Party and this year was no exception. International Volunteers Day recognises the significant value that volunteers contribute to organisations all over the world. Many organisations wouldn’t be able to function at the level they do without people such as you. Thank you for your efforts and give yourself a pat on the back for a job well done! I always worry from article to article what I am going to write about each time. As I look back and start writing my article I am constantly surprised at how much has happened over the months. As I said at the start, a new year means new beginnings, and for some of my beautiful volunteers, they will be leaving us to venture off on another journey. I wish you well with your future endeavours. On the brighter side, volunteers leaving create a new beginning for others wishing to volunteer, so out of the loss comes another ray of sunshine. But of course, there are many of you who will be gracing us with your presence again which is wonderful to see. It is fantastic to see the number of volunteers who have been with MSWA for many years and the relationships and friendships that have been forged throughout this time. To all my volunteers, whether you have been with us for a short journey or a long journey, I would like to thank you for the road you have travelled with MSWA in 2016. I wish you a safe, happy and prosperous new year, and I look forward to tackling 2017 together. Take care and bye for now, Dawn MSWA BULLETIN SUMMER 2016 | 29

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