CEO Reflections | Chicken or Egg? In COVID-Baking times, I choose the egg!

Meet Henley and Chickalina. 

They belong to Marijke, our Program Manager, and they laid their very first eggs in July.

Amidst the unfolding new normal, it was a delight for our team to share this with each other, and now with you.

The chicken or the egg existential question (answered here) is the sort of question we have been posing for ourselves, action-researchers and collaborators: What is our role for our community in the ever-changing landscape? In other words, what does our place-based leadership look like?

We see this as an emerging story that we write as a team and with our community members. This story begins with investing in relationships through collaborative programs that improve the wellbeing of people and community in Melbourne’s west. 

We do this role by convening, championing and collaborating to create a vibrant volunteering movement. 

One primary task is to support vulnerable and disadvantaged people through volunteering that empowers and connects to community. We learn in the process by developing an evaluation framework that recognises collective impact.

Why the egg?

The egg alone can be enjoyed as scrambled, poached, fried. Moreover, many of us who are baking will no doubt marvel that eggs are much more versatile when combined with flour, sugar, fat and heat and voila, baking magic happens!

Volunteering, in the traditional sense that we’ve known it to date, has been scrambled, poached and fried. But in this ever-changing landscape, volunteering has evolved (informal and virtual are some directions) and will continually need to change. This must be done with others in our community – the sugars, butters and flours.

Actually, I choose eggs and cakes.