Grey nomads help
Media release
14 May 2010
To mark the end of National Volunteering Week, National Seniors is highlighting its INSTEP program which places seniors in Aboriginal communities.
The Indigenous Skills Transfer and Exchange Partnership (INSTEP) program aims to help Indigenous community members improve their own circumstances by placing skilled ‘grey nomads’ in communities.
INSTEP is looking for more ‘grey nomads’ to donate their time and expertise in regional communities and in some metropolitan locations around Australia.
Volunteers pass on a range of skills assisting with projects like schooling, trades such as construction, market gardening, community governance, healthy eating and more.
In 2009, 24 seniors collectively volunteered more than 862 days in Indigenous communities. INSTEP volunteers contributed an estimated 4,618 voluntary hours in Indigenous communities.
INSTEP project manager Karen Furnivall said INSTEP had been embraced by a number of communities who see the program as a catalyst for bringing about positive change in areas such as literacy and numeracy, school attendance and employment participation.
“The volunteers who have worked in the communities continue to receive the praise and admiration of Indigenous community and government representatives,’’ she said.
“Building trust and working effectively with Indigenous communities is a key to the success of the National Seniors Foundation.”
Volunteers have been placed in the communities of Hope Vale, Cooktown, Cairns, Mapoon, Sunnybank and Yarrabah (Qld); Burringurrah, Mungullah and Exmouth (WA) and Thursday Island (Torres Straight).
INSTEP volunteer Wayne Gibbons has been named the IGA Unsung Hero for Western Australia. In 2008 Wayne and Anne Gibbons travelled 4,000km from their home in Victoria to become INSTEP volunteers in Mungullah, Western Australia.
Volunteer Di Agnew, a nurse and counsellor says of her experience– “We had a ball. I’m sure I got more out of it than I put into it. Just being accepted by the community … it was a huge thing and I felt totally at home.”
To find out more about volunteering opportunities for INSTEP, please phone 1300 76 50 50.
With around 280,000 members, National Seniors is Australia's largest consumer organisation for the over-50s and fourth largest group of its kind in the world.
14 May 2010
Grey nomads step up to help Indigenous communities
To mark the end of National Volunteering Week, National Seniors is highlighting its INSTEP program which places seniors in Aboriginal communities.
The Indigenous Skills Transfer and Exchange Partnership (INSTEP) program aims to help Indigenous community members improve their own circumstances by placing skilled ‘grey nomads’ in communities.
INSTEP is looking for more ‘grey nomads’ to donate their time and expertise in regional communities and in some metropolitan locations around Australia.
Volunteers pass on a range of skills assisting with projects like schooling, trades such as construction, market gardening, community governance, healthy eating and more.
In 2009, 24 seniors collectively volunteered more than 862 days in Indigenous communities. INSTEP volunteers contributed an estimated 4,618 voluntary hours in Indigenous communities.
INSTEP project manager Karen Furnivall said INSTEP had been embraced by a number of communities who see the program as a catalyst for bringing about positive change in areas such as literacy and numeracy, school attendance and employment participation.
“The volunteers who have worked in the communities continue to receive the praise and admiration of Indigenous community and government representatives,’’ she said.
“Building trust and working effectively with Indigenous communities is a key to the success of the National Seniors Foundation.”
Volunteers have been placed in the communities of Hope Vale, Cooktown, Cairns, Mapoon, Sunnybank and Yarrabah (Qld); Burringurrah, Mungullah and Exmouth (WA) and Thursday Island (Torres Straight).
INSTEP volunteer Wayne Gibbons has been named the IGA Unsung Hero for Western Australia. In 2008 Wayne and Anne Gibbons travelled 4,000km from their home in Victoria to become INSTEP volunteers in Mungullah, Western Australia.
Volunteer Di Agnew, a nurse and counsellor says of her experience– “We had a ball. I’m sure I got more out of it than I put into it. Just being accepted by the community … it was a huge thing and I felt totally at home.”
To find out more about volunteering opportunities for INSTEP, please phone 1300 76 50 50.
Media enquiries: 07 3233 9135
With around 280,000 members, National Seniors is Australia's largest consumer organisation for the over-50s and fourth largest group of its kind in the world.
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