Volunteer

True Stories: Rosie Power – From volunteer to Senior Coordinator

27 Aug , 2014 No Comments

Rosie-Power-editedI work at FRANS (Family Resource and Network Support), coordinating Community Access Programs for people with disability aged from about 4 years old to 65 years old. The programs allow participants to experience cultural, sporting, theatrical and scenic opportunities in Sydney with their friends, and with support from FRANS workers. I am also involved in the coordination of a tri-yearly disco, as well as school holiday vacation care.

I started at FRANS as a volunteer. I was looking for a career that would allow me to meet interesting people, with a broad range of life experiences, joy and hardship. I also wanted to do work that was meaningful to the community, as well as practical and challenging. I didn’t want to be sitting at a desk working through routine paperwork.

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True Stories – Rocellita Lacsina – Long history of changing jobs!

27 Aug , 2014 No Comments

Rocellita-2I’ve had a long history of changing jobs, and even careers, prior to my current position. Before coming to Australia in 1999, I was an advertising copywriter and small business owner. Migrating gave me the excellent opportunity to pursue a different professional path – one that was more immediately rewarding because it aligned with my personal values and beliefs.

When my youngest child reached pre-school age, I did a distance education course (Graduate Diploma in Childbirth Education). At the same time, I started doing community volunteer work. The exposure and growing experience landed me a succession of highly-fulfilling, project-based work in community services (migrant settlement services, youth work, perinatal work, volunteer coordination). I realized then that working with the community was the way for me to go.

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True Stories: Harkeet Sandhu – A helping hand!

20 Aug , 2014 No Comments

When I finished high school, I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do. There wasn’t a specific job or career that stood out to me.

So I chose a degree that I found interesting and figured that everything else would fall into place. I did a Bachelor of Science in Psychology at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom. I was fascinated by the human mind and how people interact. I thought that a psychology degree would offer me many skills and open up many doors for me. It did.Harkeet Sandhu

The first door the degree opened for me was the door to the rest of the world. After uni I went to South Africa to volunteer. I spent three months at Horizon Farm Trust doing a variety of things including conservation work, building and developing recreational activities for people at risk of being recruited into gang cultures such as people with mental health problems.

It was an exciting, rewarding adventure. And I wanted more of it.

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