An Accidental Volunteer Meets Great Volunteer Managers!

Recently, as readers of this blog know well, I participated in a public demonstration and march in Brisbane. The march was to #stopadani. Adani want to open a new coal mine in the Galilee Basin in Queensland. Right now their trucks and machinery are sitting on the land waiting for the final go ahead. People power will stop this mine. And I have now found myself as a volunteer activist. The people power movement is being led, in many instances by our youth. My motivation for volunteering is my kids. Climate Change is real and climate action must take place now.

Getting back to the march. I got up early one fine Saturday morning to take the 50 minute train ride to the Adani HQ in the city of Brisbane. I arrived far too early but decided to head to the site anyway. I couldn’t miss where Adani calls home in Brisbane. A tall golden building. I felt it rather apt. On arrival I was surprised to find a small group of people gathered around the front of the building. Not knowing anyone I just walked up and stood with them. In front of them were a small team of about four who were addressing them. They were all young and all very energetic. I looked around me to discover I was probably one of the oldest there bar maybe a handful. On listening I discovered that I has accidently joined the core group of volunteers who were organising this event. Nobody seemed to mind my presence and I stood there for about 20 minutes as people were coordinated and the planning for the event explained. Road marshals were picked and people were handed yellow vests. Megaphones were handed out. First aid officers were pointed out and the police liaison officer was introduced.  Banners were given out and I gladly took one. The coordinators made every one of us feel very welcome. They gave us time for questions. They told us how inspired they were that we were there. After the orientation they ran to every volunteer present giving them a high five. The mood was joyous. Personally I felt I had found my tribe. People I had never met smiled, spoke to me and made me feel welcome.

In terms of Volunteer management they were super organised. They were articulate and confident speakers. They knew their job and they knew how to do it well. They instantly made the volunteers feel welcome and appreciated. They explained what we had to do and how we would do it. They allowed for feedback. They were concerned about safety and wellbeing. They respected everyone’s contribution no matter what task they had.

They would I imagine  never consider themselves volunteer managers. I doubt the crowd assembled even considered themselves volunteers. But here stood leaders and a community willing to give their time about a cause they cared about. And on seeing how they were treated and coordinated I have no doubt that many of them will be back but this time bringing more friends and family with them.

Over two thousand more turned up that day. Maybe more. There was passion but there was also joy. The event went off without a hitch and it gained great media coverage.

I take my hat off to those leaders and volunteers. I am more hopeful for my future and my kids future because of them. I don’t remember their names but I will never forget the effect they had on this accidental volunteer.

 

2018 - The year of lazy Volunteer Management Activism!

2018. An uneventful year for the volunteer management sector. Certainly in Australia. And I am talking about the traditional sector of Volunteer Management in Australia. In other countries some progress is being made. Especially in the UK.

International Volunteer Managers Day had the theme “Be the Voice” Not a bad theme but be the voice for what? Looking at the fairly mute reaction I wondered if it was a good theme for a sector afraid to speak out.

Still. It was good to see the day more widely recognised. The Queensland government actually had a statement on the day. A few days after I tweeted the Premier. I’d like to think that helped. But not many volunteer Managers Tweeted about the day. We are ten years behind when it comes to social media. Most VMs I know are not on Twitter!

I tried. I re-joined my professional association on Volunteer Management. I took on the social media and Marketing portfolio. Though I made great inroads in a short time I had to leave after the publication of a volunteer management survey. A third party and a big player in the volunteer sector took umbrage in a survey we did on volunteer management. I felt that pressure was put on our president. They felt we were taking “their space” I was most disappointed knowing the people involved. A letter from our board with an apology was hastily written. I could not sign. I resigned.

It was not right on many fronts. We need to end the politics in our sector. There are too many people in our sector in positions of power who cold be doing better. Some may be doing our sector a disservice. People should on board to further volunteering and excellence in volunteer leadership and not just enhancing resumes!.Our sector needs people of passion and commitment and advocacy. We will look back in ten years hopefully and learn from the present!

Volunteering Victoria has again stood out in Australia in regard to how peak bodies should behave! South Australia is not too far behind. Both present fresh perspectives on volunteering and volunteer management.

Volunteer Australia has concentrated much on submissions to policies that emanates from Canberra but alone is it doing enough to progress volunteerism and volunteer management? Work like the National Standards are having a positive effect.

AAMOV may cease to exist in 2019. They may have failed to see that Volunteer Managers need the voice of an advocate. I do hope they reconsider more advocacy because we do need a strong voice.


I still believe we need a national conference or forum on Volunteer Management specifically. The loss of the Retreat for Advanced Volunteer management is a shame. It should be revived.

We need more activist advocacy for the Sector moving forward. We need fresh voices and new thought. It’s the only way we will gain some traction and get more relevance in 2019.

My Day of Volunteer Activism

“The policy or action of using vigorous campaigning to bring about political or social change” – The Oxford Dictionary

A few weeks ago I wrote

“History will record the present era as one of enormous upheaval and change. Let there be no doubt about that. Democracy itself is under threat. The middle class is disappearing and the 1% has more wealth and power than ever before. Scientists are pulling their hair out as governments around the globe ignore the real threat of climate change. People are on the move in their millions, displaced by war, hunger, terror and collapsing economies. Around the globe extreme right wing actors are emboldened with a louder voice.  But what has that to do with volunteering and with those that lead them? It has everything to do with us. Because the modern and future volunteer is an activist for the globe. If there is no leadership on the issues that matter to the people then people will take matters into their own hands. They will not only be volunteering for causes that they hold dear. They will be volunteering for the very future of their planet and for the future of their children and grandchildren. “

Well today I took action. Here is the story of my day.

Saturday morning 6am. I am awake ready to head into the city of Brisbane. It’s about 55 minutes away by train. It’s also my first day of leave from work as I take a pre-Christmas vacation with my family. It’s the end of an extremely busy week at work. I am simply exhausted and have not slept well. I could just turn over and go back to sleep for the next 3 hours. My body screams at me to do so. It’s a cloudy day. It isn’t too hot. I don’t have to move.

But this is what volunteering means. I don’t have to and I do. I throw myself out of bed and hit the shower. Today I am volunteering for the future of the globe and the future of my kids. I’ve been in Volunteer Management for 23 years. I’ve volunteered for various organisations since I was 16. This feels different. The feeling of compulsion to do this is particularly strong this morning.

Last night I had sat down with my young kids to explain what I was doing. Now let me tell you a bit about the proposed Adani Mine in Queensland Australia knowing that I have a substantial global audience.

The Carmichael coal mine is a proposed thermal coal mine in the north of the Galilee Basin in Central Queensland, Australia. Mining is planned to be conducted by both open-cut and underground methods. The mine is proposed by Adani Mining, a wholly owned subsidiary of India's Adani Group.

“Coal is killing us and our planet. Pollution from burning coal is the single biggest contributor to dangerous global warming, threatening our way of life. Coal mining drains and pollutes our water supplies, harms our health and destroys our natural landscape.” – Stop Adani Website

And so here I am today.

The starting spot for the rally was at 10 Eagle St Brisbane. This is the HQ for Adani.

I got there far too early but I was glad to do so. With my interest in Volunteer Management I was delighted to mix with all the event volunteers who had decided to meet an hour before the March. I was so impressed by the volunteer coordinators. They gave out roles, they talked about health and safety, they talked about First Aid, they gave out different colour vests for different tasks and they were super friendly and welcoming.

There were no forms. No checks. No interviews. No barriers.

Most of the volunteers there at the start were young people. And this was inspiring. 

But I worried as I looked around. I could see only about 50 people gathered an hour before the rally. I need not have worried. As the rally took off and marched toward parliament house there were at least a thousand of us!

As you can see I am hopeless with selfies

And we marched. Through the streets of Brisbane.

And it was wonderful.

And it was a start.

But here are a few points I would like to make after my experience.

·         I am not a rusted on Green supporter. I was a member for a short period and left because no one connected with me.

·         I attended today as an ordinary member of the public. Yes there were people there from schools. There were students. There were people form the Green movement and the left side of thinking. But this is bigger than labels. For this movement to work you must win over the ordinary member of the public. You must win over the office worker and the construction worker and the bank manager!

·         1,000 people in Brisbane today and thousands of others across the country marching was good. But it is not nearly good enough. In Brisbane this week 14, 000 might attend a soccer match. Normally 35, 000 will attend a Broncos match. We can be happy but we cannot celebrate a thousand people marching in our city taking action on one of the greatest threats to mankind!

·         Politicians will not take notice of 1,000 people

·         Today we marched on parliament. It was closed. No one was there.

·         Today we protested outside Adani HQ. It was a Saturday. What was the impact?

What we need to do

Disrupt

·         Nonviolent peaceful resistance: And this will be the topic of my next blog! Contact me on acim4me@live.com if you want to take action! 

A new form of volunteerism is arising and I told you so!

My blog post on November 4^th 2018

“History will record the present era as one of enormous upheaval and change. Let there be no doubt about that. Democracy itself is under threat. The middle class is disappearing and the 1% has more wealth and power than ever before. Scientists are pulling their hair out as governments around the globe ignore the real threat of climate change. People are on the move in their millions, displaced by war, hunger, terror and collapsing economies. Around the globe extreme right wing actors are emboldened with a louder voice.

But what has that to do with volunteering and with those that lead them? It has everything to do with us. Because the modern and future volunteer is an activist for the globe. If there is no leadership on the issues that matter to the people then people will take matters into their own hands. They will not only be volunteering for causes that they hold dear. They will be volunteering for the very future of their planet and for the future of their children and grandchildren. “

Citizens want to take action now on the cause they believe in. If we stifle their ambition with too much paperwork and bureaucracy they will walk away from us and do it anyway. They will baulk at traditional on boarding methods of volunteering. And they will demand to see the impact of their volunteering. They will also want more of a say in how their movement or organisation operates. They will reject hierarchy. Not for them the bottom rung of the organisational chart! They will lead and cast aside tired leadership methods, soundbites and ways of doing things. They will not tolerate any lack of diversity. They will not tolerate anyone thinking “young people don’t stick around”. They won’t be there for you every Tuesday at 9am and in fact will be there when they are ready to be there. They may not accept the title “Volunteer” and will run if you call them a Vollie. They won’t be patronised and they will tell you to stuff your four hour orientation program! They will demand you utilise the best technology available and they will not be silenced on social media. “

What happened on November 30^th 2018

From BBC News

Thousands of Australian school students have urged greater action on climate change in protests across the country. The students skipped school on Friday to highlight what they say are inadequate climate policies by the Australian government. On Monday, Australian PM Scott Morrison rebuked their plans for "activism" during school hours and insisted his government was tackling climate change. Many students said his remarks had bolstered their resolve to protest.

"We will be the ones suffering the consequences of the decisions they [politicians] make today," protester Jagveer Singh, 17, told the BBC.

From CNN

Thousands of Australian children skipped school on Friday in defiance of the prime minister to protest for greater action on climate change. Organizers estimated around 15,000 left their classrooms in 30 locations across the country, including Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, carrying signs reading "procrastinating is our job not yours" and "I've seen smarter Cabinets at Ikea". Friday's protests followed similar protests in Canberra and Hobart earlier this week. As the children prepared for three days of protest, Prime Minister Scott Morrison told Parliament "what we want is more learning in schools and less activism."

From The DJ Cronin Blog

Thousands of Australian children have made me so proud of our youth this weekend. School kids across the country volunteered to do what they did! They volunteered for the globe. They volunteered for our future. They volunteered for their own kid’s and grandkids future.

I have seen many marches over many years. I’ve participated in quite a few. These kids have inspired me to believe there is hope for my own young kids!

Thank you for volunteering to speak out and take action! Thank you!