Good Stories
goodcompany has provided community groups with more than $12 million dollars worth of pro bono services since we were founded in 2001, and over that time there have been some amazing volunteering outcomes.
We would love to pass on some of these inspirational stories to community groups and potential volunteers interested in getting involved.
If you would like your volunteering story to be on our website and in our newsletter, please send us an email to let us know. It would be great if you could include a logo of your group and some pictures to highlight the work that you do, or that the volunteer helped with. Photos of you are always great too!
The stories below show the power of volunteers and community groups working together to turn goodwill into great community outcomes.
For current media articles about goodcompany and volunteering click here.
Backyard Buddies: a fresh look
Through goodcompany, writer and editor Sandra Duncanson was connected to FNPW. Says Sandra, “my job was rewriting some of their web copy and to fill in any gaps in the information; it's a great project; in fact, I think I was really lucky to find something that fitted my interests and professional experience so perfectly.
Staff Feedback Can be a Positive Experience for All
Well-motivated and engaged staff that enjoy what they do is critical to an organisation like Stride. When Stride was interested in gaining insight into staff engagement, satisfaction levels and confidence in the leadership of the organisation through a staff survey, they posted an add on the goodcompany website and found volunteer Joanne Fitzgerald. “Joanne is a very experienced organisational psychologist and works with a wide range of corporates throughout Australia” say Jane Hill, Chief Executive of the Stride Foundation.
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IT Professional Provides Solutions for RSPCA’s IT Systems
Through goodcompany, RSPCA NSW was connected with Craig Ulrick, an IT professional. Craig says “it was refreshing to get my head out of the Finance industry for a few days and get an understanding of the RSPCA IT environment. The people out there are fantastic.”
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Increasing Employment opportunities for Alpha Autism
“I get to feel good at what I do, in an arena where it's making a difference. It is more satisfying than donating money.” says Sarah Galbraith, Group GM of Operations for Talent2, currently volunteering at Alpha Autism where she chairs an Employment Advisory Group.
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Mentoring Program Supports Migrant Job Seekers
The Skilled Professional Migrant Program (SPMP) is an accredited program which supports skilled professional migrants to enter the workforce. “AMES is a multifaceted organisation that offers services for migrants and refugees in the areas of education, employment, settlement and social enterprises”, states Sarah Hilton, Professional Mentor Program Coordinator. “Part of this program involves weekly meetings between skilled volunteers and skilled migrants for mentoring purposes” says Sarah.
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Power of Image Captures a Moment in Time and Space
“As a non-profit health centre, having access to a professional photographer free of charge was a huge help for us,” declares Caitlin, “thanks to Peter and goodcompany for providing us with this opportunity. Great work!”
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Interactive Learning Kicking Goals for Human Rights
Rohan Latimer, who volunteered as Project Manager with Human Rights are Aussie Rules on the development of an interactive game, says “more people should be getting involved in volunteer projects whether its helping out in the local community, answering a call on the Internet or fixing your mum's computer. It makes you feel worthwhile, like you are making a difference. You're bound to meet some like-minded people which will probably lead to more opportunities so there is nothing to lose!”
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Staff satisfied through survey project
Halo Jones from Earthwatch believes it is a fantastic place to work, however, they wanted to know how true that was. They wanted to develop a staff satisfaction survey to inform them of what was working and to gain information for future improvements. Sally Smith from NAB matched this brief and worked with the team over a 3 - 4 month basis in a part time capacity with the support of her manager and the NAB Skilled Volunteering Program.
Online marketer volunteers his skills
Chris says, “I had always wanted to get involved with charity, to give back as such, but never thought I could contribute outside of physical labour. That was until I discovered goodcompany. Seeing that I could contribute marketing knowledge and skills to charitable organisations I instantly approached charities to help out.” Chris is volunteering his skills to Australia's leading international child protection charity, Child Wise.
‘Good Match’ Volunteer Always Adds Value
Volunteer Emilia says “I have always found it to be such a shame that people don't think they have time to help anyone out, so I have always wanted to prove that you can in fact have a job, go to uni and do volunteering”.
Volunteer put the "Fun" back in Fundraising!
As a small not-for-profit, volunteers always provide support to make things happen at Reef Check Australia. Bianca Ousley from Fish Community Solutions assisted with the development of a targeted Fundraising Plan. Says Jennifer, “we depend almost exclusively on grant funding and we were looking to diversify our strategies and help engage more people in the cause. Bianca not only developed a comprehensive plan with numerous fundraising options, but also took the time to advise us on how to realistically implement these new components into our current organisational framework”.
Read more about Volunteer put the "Fun" back in Fundraising!