Residents asked to provide their thoughts on volunteering
Published on 17 May 2018
Council is asking local residents to provide their thoughts on volunteering in the Loddon Shire, including supporting and encouraging volunteering into the future.
The feedback will help Council to develop a Volunteer Strategy.
Council’s Chief Executive Officer Phil Pinyon said volunteers were integral to Loddon Shire.
“We already know that volunteering is readily embraced by many of our local residents,” Mr Pinyon said.
“This is demonstrated by the higher than average rate of volunteering in Loddon Shire. Almost 32 per cent of our population in the Shire are involved in volunteerism. This is in comparison to the Victorian state average of around 19 per cent,” Mr Pinyon said.
“Council’s Volunteer Strategy will recognise the vital role volunteers in our community play, and how these volunteers may be supported. Additionally, the strategy will aim to ensure volunteerism remains strong in our Shire into the future.”
To help in the development of the strategy, Council is seeking the community’s thoughts about volunteering, via a short survey.
The survey asks about the type of volunteer activities, reasons for volunteering as well as its benefits and training for volunteers.
The survey also asks about informal volunteering (providing unpaid help directly to people – not through a group or organisation), non-volunteering and ideas to improve the rate of volunteering into the future.
A number of community workshops will be held at various towns in the Shire for residents to further provide their thoughts and ideas on volunteering in the Loddon Shire. The workshop times are:
Thursday 24 May 2018
Wedderburn Community Centre – 9am to 10.30am
Serpentine Council Chambers – 11.30am to 1pm
Inglewood Town Hall Hub – 2pm to 4pm
Tarnagulla Hall – 6pm to 8pm
Friday 25 May 2018
Pyramid Hill Senior Citizens Centre – 10am to 12pm
Boort Resource and Information Centre (BRIC) – 2pm to 4pm
Feedback from the surveys and workshops will be incorporated into the draft Volunteer Strategy. It is anticipated this draft strategy will go to November’s Ordinary Meeting of Council for consideration to release it for public comment.
To complete the survey visit www.research.net/r/LoddonShire_VolunteeringCommunitySurvey2018
Hard copies of the survey are also available from Council’s Wedderburn and Serpentine offices.
The survey, which only takes around five minutes to complete, closes at 5pm on Tuesday 12 June.
Community members who fill out the survey have the chance to enter the draw to win a hamper of local produce valued at $100.