2019-Wesley-Mission-Annual-Report - Flipbook - Page 34
Our people
Our giving
community
In 2017/18, 3,197 volunteers and
4,362 people through volunteering
experiences contributed their time
to provide support to clients in
need or to raise awareness of the
work of Wesley Mission.
We’re focused on retaining one of our most
valuable resources
In 2017/18 we continued to ensure we have the
systems and processes in place to support and
retain our volunteers. This includes providing them
with appropriate training and development, and
finding meaningful, relevant ways to show our
appreciation and demonstrate the impact of
their contribution.
The people who volunteer their time to support
Wesley Mission are critical to our services. In fact,
some of our services simply wouldn’t exist without
the volunteers who deliver them.
Here are just a few examples of how volunteers,
who are the backbone and heart of some of our
programs, supported our services in 2017/18:
Wesley Aunties & Uncles: 228 registered volunteer
‘aunts and uncles’ provided mentoring, care and
guidance to children up to 12 years old facing
challenging circumstances at home or who may
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need a role model or extended network of
support. In addition to this, 14 students from
Macquarie University volunteered at our annual
children’s picnic.
connection with these organisations, moving
beyond a single day of volunteering to create long
term partnerships.
Wesley Connect: a team of 10 volunteers from
Wesley Mission congregations offered food,
friendship and connection to people in Sydney
facing hardship, crisis, homelessness or other
severe challenges.
“I wanted to reiterate my for the Wesley
Wesley Community Legal Service: dedicated
volunteers contributed 1,837 hours of their time to
provide both legal and support services to assist
clients seeking assistance with legal issues
associated with problem gambling.
Wesley School for Seniors: 96 volunteer
instructors helped people aged over 55 learn new
skills and socialise in a safe environment by
teaching a range of short courses on everything
from yoga to computer skills.
Lifeline Sydney & Sutherland: 227 volunteer
Telephone Crisis Supporters responded to 37,550
calls from people in crisis.
Wesley Retail: 30 volunteers staffed our retail
shops in Sydney and Wallsend on the Central
Coast, which raises much needed money to fund
our critical community services.
Developing deeper connections with partners
In the past 12 months engagement with our partners
expanded significantly. The growing corporate,
school and community partnerships program is a
reminder of the generosity of spirit that exists in our
communities. To be able to match that goodwill with
people in need, and the services that support them,
is extremely gratifying.
This year, more corporate partners worked with us
to create tailored volunteering experiences for their
staff. And we’re working towards a greater level of
Mission Corporate Volunteering Program.
It should be held up as an exemplar for
the NFP (not for profit) sector. The
engagement with corporates and the
value of the interaction for the volunteers
is outstanding. I hope that your model
can be replicated across the sector, to
enhance the volunteering efforts of
corporates and to create real value for
the NFPs.”
Gemma Rygate
Chief Executive Officer, The Centre for Volunteering
Wesley Homeless Food Challenge cuts
through the stereotypes of homelessness
In 2017/18, 64 groups, made up of more than
2,000 people, took part in the Wesley Homeless
Food Challenge. Together, they donated $32,115
of food and goods to Wesley Connect food and
care program.
Through the Wesley Homeless Food Challenge,
corporate, school and community volunteers learn
what it’s like to experience homelessness in
Sydney. Participants accept the challenge to shop
for three days’ worth of food with just $10. Once
the shopping is complete, everyone regroups to
discuss their choices and donate their purchases
to Wesley Connect.
homelessness. When we educate the broader
community, it creates the impetus for us to come
together to address a problem and support more
people in need.
Discovering the concept of ‘hidden homelessness’–
people who may have a job but not a home or are
couch surfing with friends for extended periods of
time–can be an eye-opening experience. If more
people understand the complexities of
homelessness, we’re a step closer to a solution.
AMP takes corporate support to the next level
Corporate supporter AMP exemplifies the mutual
benefits that can be realised when charities and
corporates unite with a common goal.
The relationship between AMP and Wesley Mission
has developed over many years. The AMP
Foundation is a significant corporate supporter of
Wesley Mission, and in 2017, as a result of this
relationship, AMP Bank adopted Wesley Mission as
their official charity.
AMP has embraced our mission to achieve all the
good we can by all the means we can. They bring
passion and energy to all their dealings with us,
which demonstrates the depth and authenticity of
their engagement with our work.
The AMP Foundation is a significant financial
sponsor of Wesley Take Charge of Your Life, which
supports young people during the transition from
foster care to independent living. To date they have
donated more than $315,000 to the program.
And AMP regularly encourages their staff to
contribute to fundraising efforts through staff
engagement days such as Wear Blue Day, socks
and jocks drive and a toiletries drive. These events
have raised approximately $12,000 in goods value
and $600 in cash to support Wesley Connect,
Wesley Edward Eagar Lodge, Wesley Fair and
Wesley Respite Dundas.
Volunteers from AMP have attended a number of
volunteering days to assist Wesley Mission. Their
efforts have included gardening at Wesley Vision
Valley to beautify the area and complete a bike
track, which is much loved by the children who
attend camps there.
AMP volunteers have also provided special
memories for clients with intellectual disabilities who
attend Wesley LifeSkills groups, escorting them to
fun excursions at Taronga Zoo. At the end of the
outing it’s usually hard to judge who has enjoyed the
day more–the Wesley Mission clients or their new
AMP friends!
AMP supports Wesley Mission in a number of ways,
including payroll giving, corporate volunteering days
and fundraising through internal staff events. We
were one of the charity beneficiaries of the AMP Big
Zipper fundraising event held in October 2017,
where five AMP staff members raised $20,000 to
support Wesley Mission programs.
The challenge helps people develop a better
understanding of the causes and nature of
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