Page 908 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 9 April 2014
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Current office bearers of the board of governance are the president, Jane Haydon, who is the current CEO of Lifeline Australia; the vice-president, Jason Moffett; the treasurer, Cameron Lynch; and the secretary, Wendy Prowse. The four regular members of the board are Brendon Lynch, Dianne Carlos, John Lewis and Rhys Morrison. There are also two cooperative members of the board; they are Avi Rebera and Jason Cummins. Volunteering ACT is also proudly represented by Major-General the Hon Michael Jeffrey AC, AO, CVO, MC, who serves as its patron.
This time of year is busy for Volunteering ACT as it gears up to celebrate National Volunteering Week, which runs this year from 12 to 18 May. This year National Volunteering Week turns 25, and Volunteering ACT is hosting events to celebrate this milestone and the week in general.
I would encourage members to get involved in events if they are able to. Three in particular I would like to point out would be a sausage sizzle with Senator Seselja on Thursday, 8 May; the ACT Volunteer of the Year awards being held on Tuesday, 13 May at the National Museum; and a volunteering open day held on Thursday, 15 May in which volunteer organisations are encouraged to open their doors and allow potential volunteers to see what volunteering programs are available.
I commend all those in Volunteering ACT. For more information about the work of the group I recommend members visit its website at www.volunteeringact.org.au.
Volunteering ACT
Belconnen Community Men’s Shed
MS PORTER (Ginninderra) (6.31): I echo Mr Coe’s remarks about Volunteering ACT and I also encourage people to go to the IAVE website to look at the upcoming world conference that will be held in Australia in September this year.
Madam Speaker, I wish to speak this evening about another volunteer activity, the official opening of the Belconnen Community Men’s Shed in Page that recently occurred. I attended along with my colleague Ms Berry and the former Raider Alan Tongue, who actually formally opened the shed.
As members would be aware, ACT men’s sheds have become a well-established, important part of our community. It is now well documented that men’s sheds have been proven to improve men’s health and wellbeing. Particularly after men retire, their usual busy routine is disrupted and their day-to-day contact with their workmates is obviously curtailed.
You may also be aware that Belconnen Community Men’s Shed is auspiced by the Mosaic Baptist Church in Belconnen, which also donated the land beside the church’s community centre on which the shed is now built. In February 2011 a committee was formed to create a place where men could meet and share their stories, their skills, learn new skills and support one another. Thanks to the overwhelming response by businesses and members of the community, the men’s shed is now open, very busy and clearly thriving.
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