PROJECTS

The Regional Collective: Next Generation

As part of our Volunteer Management Activity project in 25/26, we've worked to link teen volunteers (aged 12 - 18) with local organisations who wanted some fresh energy!

We worked with both the engaged teenagers and volunteer involving organisations (VIOs) to codesign meaningful, age-appropriate volunteer roles, building on the knowledge, confidence and internal processes that were required for these new roles to flourish.

For this first year, organisations included The Esperance Theatre Guild, 103.9 HopeFM, and Esperance Museum.

Videos

Below you will find a range of videos showcasing outcomes from the youth project, captured by Rosie Henderson.

Esperance Youth Volunteering Snapshot This video offers a glimpse into the stories, ideas and conversations shared through the Esperance Volunteer Resource Centre’s recent youth volunteering project.
Bijou Theatre Case Study – Esperance Youth Volunteering In this video, we meet Lucy at the Bijou Theatre. Lucy has unilateral hearing loss, and the Bijou is keen to support Lucy in running a theatre themed social AUSLAN group to help create a more inclusive space for members and audiences experiencing hearing loss!
103.9 HopeFM Case Study – Esperance Youth Volunteering In this video, we meet Lacey at 103.9 HopeFM. Lacey was keen to become more involved in her community, and through HopeFM’s Radio Reading program she has found a creative way to do just that - recording stories she has written herself to share with listeners!
Museum Case Study – Esperance Youth Volunteering In this video, we meet Charlie at the Esperance Museum. After connecting with the Museum’s Cultural Officer at a youth volunteering workshop hosted by the EVRC, Charlie joined the Museum’s front of house volunteer team. With a strong interest in history and a desire to build skills for future employment, volunteering at the Museum has been a great fit!
Esperance Youth Volunteering – The Full Overview This video brings together the stories of Lucy, Lacey and Charlie, alongside reflections from the local organisations involved in this project, to give a broader picture of what youth volunteering can look like in Esperance.

Resources

Listed below are a range of PDFs capturing various findings from this project and other useful, downloadable resources that your organisation may benefit from!

Youth and National Standards Infograph P1 and P2

Youth Volunteering - FAQ

Youth Volunteering - Myth vs Reality

The National Standards for Volunteer Involvement

The National Strategy for Volunteering 2023-2033

This project was supported through Volunteering WA 's Volunteer Management Activity, funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services.

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Past projects

Out of the Box Volunteering

The ‘Out of the Box Volunteering’ Project (OBV) at the Esperance Volunteer Resource Centre is a collaborative initiative between four Volunteer Centres including:

Peel Volunteer Resource Centre Inc
Volunteer Southwest Inc
Albany & Regional Volunteer Service Inc
Esperance Volunteer Resource Centre

Volunteer involvement is an essential part of most organisations and yet it can be difficult to recruit and retain volunteers. This project combines the expertise and resources of these four organisations to revolutionise the way we understand and engage in volunteering. OBV has been funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services. This project aims to educate, equip and support regional non-profits to expand their current volunteering opportunities to increase connection with potential volunteers they may not currently be engaging with. Specific target groups were set by the Department of Social Services, these included:

Young people aged 12-18 years
People with disability and/or mental health issues
Vulnerable women
People who are unemployed
First Nations people
Newly arrived migrants
People seeking a tree/sea change
Transient workers

Through this project, EVRC is exploring new ways to encourage volunteer engagement by identifying current challenges and potential solutions, with a goal to increase the chances of success for Volunteer Involving Organisations (VIO’s) with finding new volunteers and keeping them engaged.

Click on the image above to learn more!

Out of the Box is an EVRC program designed to help volunteer-involving organisations reach people who may not have traditionally engaged in volunteering — like young people, First Nations people, migrants, transient workers, those with disabilities or mental health challenges, and vulnerable women.

This program supports you to create inclusive roles, provide meaningful support, and build a welcoming environment where every volunteer feels valued.

The team at the Esperance Volunteer Resource Centre are here to help non-profit organisations, community groups, volunteers, and anyone who would like to get involved with their community - so get in touch!

The ‘National Standards for Volunteer Involvement’ are found here.

The ‘National Strategy for Volunteering 2023-2033’ is found here.

Thank you to the team at Esperance Aged Care Facility for being involved in the creation of this video!

Film and thumbnail by @byrosiehenderson

This project was supported through Volunteering WA's Volunteer Management Activity, funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services.

Good Will Globetrotters

The 'Goodwill Globetrotters' Project (GG) includes working intensively with Volunteer-Involving Organisations in Esperance and surrounding areas to design and implement flexible, short-term volunteer opportunities suitable for the transient tourist population and time-poor locals looking for community engagement.

The project introduced a new approach to volunteering in Esperance by providing strategies and guidance to local VIO's to assist them with developing short-term and one-off commitment volunteering opportunities that will appeal to travellers and time-poor locals.

Project activities include:

Reshaping how VIO's structure their volunteer programs to be more flexible, with short-term and one-off opportunities;
Tackling barriers present in existing on-boarding processes and seeking to minimise the effort from both VIO's and volunteers when it comes to short term roles; and
Mitigating obstacles and tracking successes.

Anticipated project outcomes involved:

A greater variety of people taking on volunteer roles, increasing community strength, resilience, and inclusiveness.
Increased percentage of youth volunteers, especially with a disability or from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Stronger relationship between EVRC, VIO's, volunteers, and the wider Esperance community.