Volunteer

Calling Volunteer Advocates for vulnerable children

The Volunteer Advocates for the Most Vulnerable Children project is funded by the federal government's Practical Design Fund.

The National Disability Insurance Scheme for children assumes that each child has a supportive family to make decisions on their behalf and act in their best interest. Some children do not have a relative or unpaid person in their life who can confidently represent their needs; hence may be disadvantaged by this system.
The aim of this program is to assist people with a disability, their families and carers and the disability sector to get ready for the NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme).

Through the Volunteer Advocates for the Most Vulnerable Children program, Cara will recruit and train families of children with disability as volunteer advocates for children who do not have a family member to advocate on their behalf, or to support families who identify they would benefit from such support.

What is involved in being a Volunteer Advocate?
Volunteer Advocates will :

• Help children, carers and families to think through decisions and focus on constructive pathways and positive outcomes;
• Listen to, and be a sounding board for the children, carers and families goals and challenges; and
• Share relevant examples of life experiences and empathise and encourage children, carers and families

To be a Volunteer Advocate, you will:

• Be willing to volunteer your time to support others;
• Have experience and knowledge of caring for a child with a disability; and
• Have good listening and communication skills

Volunteer Advocates will receive training and ongoing support in their role.

Who can receive support from a Volunteer Advocate?

• Children under the guardianship of the Minister who must:
• Be under the age of 18;
• Be eligible for the NDIS, once it is introduced; and
• Have no nominated personal to provide assistance and support for them to be heard and have their needs met.

Families of children who are:

• Under the age of 18;
• Eligible for the NDIS, once it is introduced; and
• Who don't feel comfortable in speaking up on behalf of their child.

What to do if you are interested in becoming a Volunteer Advocate?
Download a position description and expression of interest form.

What to do if you are interested in having a child or family supported by a Volunteer Advocate?
Download an expression of interest form for children under the guardianship of the minister and families.

To apply or for enquiries, contact:

Ashleigh Wilby, Program Coordinator Program
p: (08) 8347 4588
f: (08) 8347 4508
e: awilby@cara.org.au
a: PO Box 237, Woodville SA 5011

Families chip in for children

An enthusiastic and generous group of parents, friends and family members dedicated Saturday 17 November 2012 to spruce up a Cara children’s respite service in Magill.

Initiated by a parent of child who utilises the respite service, Matthew Beard, the motivation of the project was to improve the experience for children living with disability staying at the service, as well as to support staff at the site, who provide a wonderful service with limited resources.

Matthew rallied a group of his friends and family, while Cara respite service manager, Libby Fairweather, spread the word to other parents to give their time at the volunteer makeover day.

By the end of the day, two large trees were felled, holes repaired in internal walls, three doors replaced, all internal rooms painted, the garden cleaned, rubbish removed, and the watering system repaired.

Along with the labour provided on the day by the volunteers, the project could not have happened without the in-kind support of several people and companies. This included the donation of painting services by Vince Nisco. Volunteer painters included the Nisco and Kelly families, in addition to a number of Matthew’s friends. The donation of materials, tradesmen and aborist by Andrew Marshall from Marshall and Brougham Builders ensured the project’s success.

The Cara staff members also did their bit by supplying and cooking a delicious barbecue lunch for everybody and pitched in where they could.

“A shortfall in funding means that we cannot always maintain our service properties as much as we’d like, so the volunteer labour and in-kind donations are very much appreciated,” says Libby.

Living by example

Cara’s volunteers hail from all walks of a life and are all inspirational in their selflessness and generosity.

A great example is one of Cara’s newest volunteers, who has already been an inspiration to millions of Masterchef viewers.

John Hughes made entertainment headlines last year after refusing to be treated differently from other contestants in the 2011 Top 50 round of Masterchef because he lives with cerebral palsy (CP).

John currently lives in the Barossa Valley and produces wine for his own wine label, Rieslingfreak.

More recently, John joined the Cara family as a volunteer to share his experiences with young people and children with CP.

“A Cara staff member told me about Cara’s respite services for children, and I decided to volunteer my time to children with a disability, especially those with CP. Having CP myself, I can be a mentor to show the children their abilities, which is an amazing experience.”

Since making this decision, John volunteered his time at a Cara Camps for Kids camp in July this year, and has signed up as a Families for Families volunteer. This involves John hosting a young person with a disability for a day or weekend.

John hosted a young man from the Barossa Valley in September and has many plans for activities to do together in the future, including trips to the zoo, the movies, and fishing – a favourite pastime for both.

“Mostly I really hope that I can be a mentor to him, and for him to feel comfortable to talk to me about CP. Hopefully, over time, he will be able to see what I have achieved and maybe that will inspire him to go further,” says John.

John is also involved with many other CP organisations across Australia, including developing cooking classes for children with CP, acting as an ambassador for CP projects, fundraising, motivational speaking, and sports training for children with CP.

Cara is thrilled to have a person of such life experience and motivation to be an inspiration to children with a disability.

Anyone can lend a hand

A caring Cara accommodation client is showing that people with a disability don’t have to be recipients of support – people with a disability can help others too.

Jo has lived in various accommodation services since childhood and now lives in a Cara accommodation service in Murray Bridge with her dog, Jack. Although Jo receives dialysis frequently, she also has a lot of time on her hands and a generous spirit that wants to give to others.

Jo’s desire to help others was discovered while developing her Person-Centred Plan, which supports Cara clients to live the fulfilling life they want. It was then suggested that Jo become a volunteer for other Cara clients in need. Deciding where Jo should give her time was easy when it was discovered that she loves being around children

“Jo really likes children.  She has nieces and nephews that are now teenagers but told me she really enjoyed the aunty role when they were younger,” says Cara team leader, Judi Elkson.

Jo was thrilled to be posted as an official Cara volunteer at a Cara children’s accommodation service in Murray Bridge earlier this year. Jo visits the children’s service regularly, especially in the school holidays, and has formed a relationship with the children, particularly with a young girl who loves to cook with Jo. 

“Once Jo was accepted as a Cara volunteer, she was so excited and couldn’t stop smiling,” says Judi.

Plans are also underway for Jo to establish a veggie garden, and Jo, with the support of staff, has investigated the types of gardens and species of veggies and plants to be planted.

Everybody wins through volunteering

As much as charity organisations like Cara need the ongoing support of volunteers to give their time and skills, volunteers can make their volunteer role work for them too. This has happened for young Italian volunteer, Silvia Faccen, who spends three afternoons a week volunteering in the Cara Marketing department.

Sylvia moved to Australia in late 2011 with her partner. With no Australian references and with a basic knowledge of English, Sylvia knew she had to build her confidence in a new country. Sylvia saw an online ad for volunteers at Cara and was drawn to it because of having a close family member with a disability. With her experience in events and marketing at her previous role at Estee Laude, Sylvia applied for a position as an events and marketing administration volunteer.

“This is giving me lots of great experience. It’s improving my English by listening to and talking with people in the Cara office,” says Silvia. “And I get to do good by helping people with a disability.”

If you would like to see the Cara volunteer roles that could do something for you, while helping people with a disability, visit the Cara volunteer opportunities webpage.