Reflections of my time at Volunteer West - Marijke Fotia

When Thu-Trang asked me if I’d like to write something about my time at Volunteer West, I jumped at the chance to share what it has meant to me to work for an organisation that truly places people and communities at the centre of everything they do.

In May 2020 I had very little idea of how much I would grow and learn at Volunteer West. I developed practical skills in facilitating zoom meetings – “you’re on mute”, running a recruitment campaign for 25 new staff, learning how to report through the DSS data exchange and negotiating contract amendments and extensions with funders and managing a remote team, to name a few. I also developed a new passion for volunteerism. In particular, the ways diverse communities engage in community giving and participation outside of what was previously considered volunteering.

There are amazing community organisations across Melbourne’s West who do so much with so little, yet many of the people running these organisations don’t realise the professional skills they have as volunteer engagement practitioners.

Finding ways to uplift their stories and learn from how they manage their work has been an absolute privilege.

There is so much more, just look at how much information there is now available on Volunteer West’s website, the partnerships which are now up and running and the research that will continue to shine a light on the practice leadership that is happening everyday on the ground.

I have also had the opportunity to connect with and get to know so many other passionate people within the volunteer engagement space. These people will be friends for life and I look forward to catching up for coffees, dinners and lunches for many years to come.

The past two and a half years have been a challenging time for everyone and through it all I have felt supported in a way that has made my decision to finish up at Volunteer West difficult.

Along with the pandemic I have faced a number of personal challenges during this time, which I have shared openly including my chronic illness, Migraine, completing my Masters of Health and International Development and my experience with COVID fatigue and depression. Through these challenges Thu-Trang, Ash, Sanjeev, Phuong, Pakiza, Prithvi and the whole VolConnect team were there to jump in to meetings, read my sometimes language muddled emails and tell me that it’s okay to not be okay.

This values led approach to leadership has supported me to step out of the workforce for the time being. I look forward to seeing what happens next at Volunteer West but for now my days will consist of reading, cross stitch, gentle exercise and spending time with friends and family. Connecting with myself and my community will be essential as I explore what it means to be me.