Marketing Initiatives and Campaigns to promote Volunteering - a ...

• Non-formal community based learning – takes place in a structured manner and sitsoutside of the Australian Qualification Framework (eg. work of Royal Lifesaving, theQueen’s Scout Award, Music Guild, Red Cross & St John Ambulance) (p.3)• Informal community based learning – learning achieved as a result of a specialinterest of a student (e.g. leadership roles in sports coaching and umpiring, churchgroups) (p.3)• Possibility of gaining credits for activities outside of school (p.40Source: ‘Putting the Public Back in Policy: Social Capital and The Public Liability Issuein South Australia’, by Joshua Contin, Honours-Politics, Adelaide University 2003Key points:Volunteer Protection Act as a way of promoting volunteering• In South Australia, the Volunteer Protection Act 2001 (VPA) protects individualvolunteers against personal liability. Implemented on 15 January 2002, the VPA statesthat ‘ a volunteer incurs no personal civil liability for an act or omission done or madein god faith and without recklessness in the course of carrying out community workfor a community organisation’24. Source: ‘The impact of compulsory community participation on the not for profitsector in Western Australia’, by Judith Cockram, Australian Journal on Volunteering,Vol.8, No.1, 2003, pp.5-14.Key points:• From July 2002 compulsory community participation policies have included jobsearch requirements, work for the dole and volunteering in as pre-requisite for theparticipation allowance. The scheme now applies universally to 18 to 49 year oldswho do not choose other options such as part time work or training• Conclusion and implication of research:• Volunteering and work of the dole programs can be a means of connecting peopleand overcoming feeling of isolation social benefits• Over half of respondents were only interested in volunteering if the work gavethem direct benefits like skills to help them get a job• There appears to be a mismatch between this need and the opportunities availablein most participating organisations to meet it.• There are reported low levels of commitment and short stays by young peoplewho are ‘obliged’ to volunteering, which may have a negative impact on youngpeople volunteering in the future• Findings indicate that Government needs to assist volunteer involving agencies todevelop and sustain opportunities and to assist in the development of the capacityof unemployed people to take up those opportunity• There is a need to make AWT program attractive enough so that people enter itwith a positive outlook41