Volunteering connects Dominika to her community

Dominika, DL student

I'm from Poland and I live in a small country town in South Australia where I volunteer from time to time at the local golf club.  In Poland volunteering is not valued because it earns you no money.  But now I can see that what you do for free can be worth much more than money.  It is great to be able to help others, use your skills and learn new skills while supporting a local business in a small town.

I help with decorating the club for special events and with registrations for tournaments. Sometimes I also help in the kitchen where I exchange cooking experiences with other staff members.  Most importantly however, I get the chance to talk to people, improve my English and understand the way country people talk which is very quick and full of slang.

The biggest challenge for me is when I do registrations and I have to find people's names on the list.  Because they are club members and locals, they assume I should know their surnames.  I can usually remember the first name and the face but not the surname.  This however helps me understand their Aussie English.  For example there was this member that everyone called "Blue" but I had trouble finding his name on the list under Blue.  When I asked him for his surname it was nothing like the colour blue.  I found out later that in Australia people call you "Blue" when you have red hair!

Volunteering has made me understand the Australian culture and feel part of my community.  I enjoy helping people and I don't feel so homesick in Australia any more.

Talking about country, slang and blue Dominika is sharing this popular Aussie song by country singer John Williamson called "True Blue".

Following The National Volunteer Week we've had a number of responses from DL students with positive stories.  Thanks Dominika for sharing your experience with volunteering and this song.

• What is the meaning of "true blue" in the song?
• Are there any slang expressions that you learned from talking to other Australians?
• Is volunteering valued in your country of origin?  Why / why not?
• If you had the chance to volunteer, what work would you like to do?

DL welcomes an AMEP volunteer in their offices

Ksenia, volunteer with DL

Ksenia comes from Russia.  After one month of arriving in Australia in April 2015 she started her AMEP English lessons with Navitas in Hurstville.  Gaining more confidence with her English, Ksenia enrolled in a SLPET (Settlement Language Pathway for Education and Training) course in Business Administration.

It was good luck that brought Ksenia to complete her work experience component of the course in Distance Learning as we always need extra help with administrative jobs.  After completing her 2 week work placement, Ksenia took initiative and asked if she could continue to work with us a on voluntary basis. Because we could see that Ksenia was very professional we were delighted to have her continue work with us.

We asked Ksenia about her 2 week work experience.  She said: "It was very useful because I had never worked in Australia before and I wanted to see what it would be like, how different it would be from working in Russia and how I can contribute.  Being in a new place with a new set of circumstances can be scary.  I didn't know what people do or the culture of the workplace in Australia.  I feel more confident now."

We also asked Ksenia why she offered to volunteer after her 2 week work experience was finished.  She said "I enjoy working as part of a team and being productive.  I find it hard to be home all the time.  Plus it helps me stay in touch with technology and work practices.  It is important not to lose my skills specially as I am looking for a job. I feel ready to work in Australia."

The management team in Distance Learning are so impressed by Ksenia's attitude to work and her administrative and computer skills.  The manager offered to be her referee and would highly recommend her for any job she applies for.  Although it would be sad to lose Ksenia, we wish her all the best for finding paid employment.

Do you have a good volunteering story to share!  Why not add your comments below!

Give Happy, Live happy - National Volunteer Week

This week we celebrate National Volunteer Week.  Volunteering means giving your time and working for no money, so why do we do it? Research shows that volunteers live happier and healthier lives.  We asked two of our teachers about the volunteer work they've done when they're not paid to teach.

Linda, far left

DL Teacher, Linda, volunteered to be a reading mentor and a role-model in public schools to help students develop their reading and comprehension skills. She works with one student on a weekly basis for one term through the ABCN Spark program.  She finds it rewarding to share her skills to help someone in her community and make a difference.  Linda says it is a lot of fun to see the students improve their reading levels, enjoy reading more and engage in conversations increasing their confidence and self-esteem.

Baby possums with Karen

DL Teacher, Karen, is a volunteer for rescuing and caring for injured or displaced native animals such as birds, lizards and possums through the wildlife rescue organisation, WIRES.  Her favourite are baby possums.  She enjoys bottle feeding them until they're ready to be released back into the wild.  Karen also plans to do further training to raise kangaroo joeys, koalas and wombats.  She does this volunteer work because she loves animals and finds it rewarding to save them, watch them grow and be safely free again in the wild.  She says this has also been a wonderful experience for her children.

• Have you ever volunteered?  What did you do?
• What are the benefits of volunteering for new migrants in Australia?
• What kind of volunteer work is available?
• How do you find volunteer work in your area?

Why not share your views or what you've done to volunteer here and inspire other students!