Rosalind Beatty

Volunteering Wingecarribee has been assisting volunteers gain suitable positions at not-for-profit organisations in our area for over 20 years. Without our help, newly arrived retirees to the area who want to volunteer could not find a position. We have been supported by our local Council by an annual contribution to cover our costs. This year the Council has declined to fund us urging us to apply for a Community Assistance grant which may or may not be forthcoming as all other entities in the shire have been invited to apply. We also have a Learner Driver Mentoring Program wherein our volunteers accompany disadvantaged youth in order to clock up the required 120 hours. Hundreds of volunteer hours have been spent and many young people have benefited. It is impossible to get work in the regional areas without a driver's licence.

Volunteering Wingecarribee is a not-for-profit organisation which has been operating in the Southern Highlands for over 20 years. We have been funded by the Wingecarribee Council and have been part of their strategic plan. This year the Council has seemingly turned its back on us and we will be forced to suspend operations. We urgently need your help to keep going and hope in the future to secure a sponsor who, like we, believe that volunteering is an integral part of our community - both for the volunteers giving their time and the often disadvantaged people that we help. We recruit volunteers from the Community and place them in appropriate positions with our not-for-profit clients. We also have a Learner Driver Mentor Program where our volunteers have given hundreds of hours taking disadvantaged young people through their 120 hours of required driving experience. In the regions it is imperative to have a driver's licence in order to gain employment and this assists these young people to have a worthwhile future.