General News
10 July, 2023
Survey to provide local volunteer snapshot
A new survey designed to provide insight into the state of local volunteering has launched, with feedback to help boost volunteer numbers and build a stronger sense of community. The Maryborough Volunteer Resource Centre (MVRC) and Central...
A new survey designed to provide insight into the state of local volunteering has launched, with feedback to help boost volunteer numbers and build a stronger sense of community.
The Maryborough Volunteer Resource Centre (MVRC) and Central Goldfields Shire Council have partnered to launch the research survey, which will create a snapshot of the state of volunteering in the shire.
The survey is broken into four parts, with each relating to:
• community members who are involved in a volunteer run organisation
• residents who regularly help others with no payment and are not attached to an organisation
• those who would like to volunteer but haven’t been able to find something suitable
• residents who are not involved in volunteering.
MVRC secretary Deb Macer said it’s vital for the future of volunteering across the shire that as many people as possible take part in the survey.
“We are keenly interested in getting feedback from all four target survey groups,” she said.
“The survey is entirely anonymous and we are particularly interested in hearing from those who don’t volunteer.
“If you don’t volunteer, it would be really important for us to know what the barriers are as we know from the recently published National Volunteer Strategy that the vast majority of people really would like to contribute to their community.”
Auspiced by the Maryborough Community House, the MVRC is also eager to hear from current volunteers to obtain their thoughts on what is going well and what challenges they’re currently facing.
The group has identified that many community groups are facing tough times and that accessing and maintaining volunteers is a real challenge.
Mrs Macer emphasised that the MVRC is keen to modernise the concept of volunteering so that it is more flexible in meeting individual needs.
“We also want to hear from those who would like to make a contribution to the community, but can’t find the time or a volunteering role that interests them,” she said.
“Volunteering can be just a couple of hours a month, or it can be project based with a start and finishing date.”
The results of the survey will be reported back to residents and will help guide the resource centre and council’s partnership in arresting the decline in volunteering and re-building a stronger sense of community.
The survey is available at engage.cgoldshire.vic.gov.au/volunteering or residents can collect a hard copy from council’s Customer Service Centre at 22 Nolan Street, Maryborough, the library or community houses.
The survey is open until Monday, July 31.