It's National Volunteer Week!
This week marks National Volunteer Week – Australia’s largest annual celebration of volunteers. Here at Orange Sky, we are proudly celebrating the efforts of more than 2000 volunteers who enable our organisation to alleviate some of the hardship faced by people experiencing homelessness, by providing access to free laundry, warm showers and non-judgemental conversation. Orange Sky’s Program Manager, Daniel Glaubert, reflects on a particularly challenging year with the pandemic as the organisation went from 1,800 to zero volunteers almost overnight.
From Monday 17th to Sunday 23rd May 2021, National Volunteer Week will celebrate the significant contribution of Australia’s almost six million volunteers. Each year these volunteers dedicate over 600 million hours to help others.
Orange Sky is one such organisation powered by volunteers to deliver our services across the country. Thanks to the support of our volunteers, we’ve provided friends doing it tough with 1.7 million kilograms of laundry and over 250, 000 hours of engaging and meaningful conversation since launching with just one van, and two volunteers, in 2014.
Daniel Glaubert, who heads up our national volunteer program, has seen first-hand the direct impact of volunteers across the community. He says National Volunteer Week is not only a chance to celebrate the work of volunteers, but an opportunity to reflect on a particularly challenging year with the pandemic.
“Recent events have reminded us of the importance of our volunteers and their contribution to our work. In March 2020, the pandemic saw us pause our operations where we went from 1,800 to zero volunteers overnight. We’re really celebrating our volunteers more than ever this year as we have worked tirelessly to build back up,” he said.
“Our volunteers have been and will remain an integral part of our work- before and after the pandemic. Volunteers provide us with the kind of things we can’t put a dollar figure on; positively connecting communities.
“This year more than ever we say thank you- there’s no way that I could possibly put into words the difference those people are making across our community. On behalf of Orange Sky, and all of the Friends who utilise the service, thank you to each and every one of you. You are so very special, valued, and the difference you are making coming out on shift could never be measured.”
Orange Sky is currently recruiting for new volunteers in some priority regions for our services across Australia. Your support will enable us to run our current services at their full capacity, increasing the amount of shifts we can offer in each community. We are reaching out to people with an interest in supporting our cause in the following locations:
- Geelong, VIC
- Melbourne, VIC
- Cairns, QLD
- Northern Rivers, NSW
- Central Coast, NSW
- Darwin, NT
- Hobart, TAS
- Adelaide, SA
You can find out more about how to volunteer here.
Help to positively connect your community.
A Different Kind Of Celebration
Orange Sky on the Sunshine Coast recently celebrated its fourth birthday, but we did not celebrate.
As a team of 70 volunteers, we are not able to serve and connect with our friends due to the COVID-19 outbreak. It is devastating for everyone, especially for the most vulnerable members of our community.
All the volunteers are missing our connection to our friends at this time, especially when we feel we are most needed.
We all miss the connection and being able to check in on our friends. After four years on the Sunshine Coast, our volunteers have connected with friends in lots of ways we didn’t realise we could. But we are also missing the connection that our friends in the community give us, in accepting us for no other reason than they like the connection as well.
We are missing attending shift and putting out the six orange chairs that is Orange Sky’s symbol of ‘come have a seat and a chat, all welcome,’ but we are also missing the banter, jokes and clever conversions that happen on shift.
We are missing the connection of knowing our friends are safe; some of our friends do not have the choice of staying at home in comfort, we worry about them as some already have health issues. We also worry about the amazing service providers and whether they are able to continue to provide take away meals to our friends.
We worry because a lot of the places they normally spend their time have closed – are they staying dry, cool, warm and safe from the elements?
We are not sure how long it will be before we are able to go back on shift, but I can assure you we will get back our there at the first chance we have. We will all have the biggest smiles on our faces when we do reconnect with our friends – and then we will celebrate.
Lesley is Orange Sky’s volunteer Service Leader on the Sunshine Coast and does an amazing job of coordinating more than 70 volunteers across 10 shifts every week. Over the past four years, volunteers have provided more than 9,800 loads of washing, 14,700 hours of genuine and non-judgemental conversation and 1,329 shifts between Caboolture and Noosa.
Support volunteers to continue connection with friends doing it tough