East Gippsland Shire Council is recognising and celebrating volunteers during National Volunteer Week, May 20-26.
The theme for National Volunteer Week 2019 is ‘Making a world of difference’ and council’s volunteers certainly live up to that sentiment, supporting programs in the libraries, youth services, visitor information centres and more.
Mayor, Cr Natalie O’Connell, said about 60 volunteers worked across the visitor information centres in Bairnsdale, Lakes Entrance, Bruthen, Orbost, Cann River and Mallacoota and are an integral part of this service.
“This volunteering role involves working year-round, including weekends and public holidays, and council does recognise and acknowledge our dedicated volunteers with a luncheon during volunteer week,” Cr O’Connell said.
“East Gippsland has a similar rate of volunteerism compared to the regional Victorian average, with almost 25 per cent of people aged more than 15 years performing voluntary work. We have an active community of retirees. There are many opportunities for active ageing through volunteering, but also via community courses, fine art and discussion groups, choirs, theatre groups and men’s and women’s sheds.”
Vikki McLean has been volunteering with the visitor information centre at Lakes Entrance for the past 17 months, including spending time in the mobile visitor information centre van. Originally from Orbost, Vikki retired to Lakes Entrance having previously worked in telecommunications.
“The idea of the mobile visitor information centre van is to take the service to where the people are, rather than people making a special trip to our centres for information,” Mrs McLean said.
“I enjoy chatting with visitors and meeting all sorts of people from eight to 80 years.”
It has been shown people who attend a visitor information centre spend more money and time in a region.
PICTURED: Vikki McLean enjoys volunteering in the mobile visitor information centre van, which sets up at popular local visitor locations like the Lakes Entrance foreshore during holiday periods and long weekends. (PS)
