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2020 was hard, but, did we make it? YES!

It’s been 12 months since COVID-19 rocked our worlds (and our programs). We managed to get by but it looked a little different to usual, we didn’t get to see as many of you, and some things were canceled BUT that’s all about to change!

Autumn has provided some light at the end of the tunnel and we have 42 awesome activities, 12 cool camps, 3 great getaways, 2 fantastic family camps and, 5 (recurring) gnarly GAP programs coming your way!

Before we get into the future we just want to throw a massive shout out to the 29 volunteers that volunteered in person over January School Holiday and Adult Recreation Programs and to those 23 people that volunteered their time on the Pen Pal program during COVID-19!

Volunteering Commitment and Goals

Life, work, friends, family, sport, religious activities, rest, children, study, hobbies and volunteering, it’s a wonder how us humans can fit so many things in one week! We just want to remind everyone that as much as we would love to have you all on our programs every week, we understand that life (amongst other things) gets in the way, and that’s okay!!! Just reach out and let us know and we can make a note to reconnect in the near future!

Everyone volunteers for different reasons, some people want to give back to the community, some want to make friends, some to have fun and others want to get some work experience! These reasons change over time too, so please reach out to the volunteer coordinators if you’d like to discuss your goals so we help you out by being more intentional when you help us out! Suggested goals may be:

•   Become confident supporting participants with behaviors of concerns/high physical needs
•   Wanting to participate in activities you’ve never experienced before
•   Want to be a competitive applicant for support work
•   Want to learn how to communicate other than verbally
•   Have a specific amount of hours or activities you’d like to volunteer

Group Afterhours Programs (GAP)

Our group afterhours programs are looking for some awesome individuals to join their programs. Ideally volunteers are able to commit to a whole term block (10 weeks) but we would love to hear from you if you would be interested in helping out fortnightly or even for a 5 week block. Our current vacancies are:

Sport for Fun Mondays – Eastern indoors

Lego Club – Online
Reactions – Ferntree Gully
Sport for Fun Wednesday – Maroondah
Sport for Fun Thursday – Eastern indoors

Family Camps – See what IOE is all about!

For those who may not have heard of Family Camps before, I recommend that you check out our publication from last year! https://www.ioe.org.au/family-camp-is/
In short, this is one of the camps that makes us unique! We arrange a huge campsite, take a bunch of vollies like yourself and instead of just taking the person with a disability, we bring their WHOLE family!!
The next two Family Camps are:

Coonawarra – 5^th – 8^th March (Labor Day Weekend)
Phillip Island – 23^rd – 25^th April

Autumn 2021 Date Sheet

Check out the below link to download the PDF of our upcoming programs! If you would like more information on each activity or its meeting location, you can find it on Better Impact.

Download PDF Here

Feedback

We love to hear your positive and constructive feedback on the activities and programs you volunteer on! After each activity, you are encouraged to complete the below online form.
https://goo.gl/forms/8ynW9yYRea2CfTQa2

If you've got complaints or feedback then we've got a way for you to share them with us! There are a few ways to share your thoughts about our service and you are welcome to use whichever method suits you best.

Contact the staff member you are most comfortable with or contact a coordinator, a team leader, our general manager or CEO.
Email complaints@ioe.org.au
Click the 'Give Feedback' button on the top right corner of our website
Use the 'Send us an Enquiry or Feedback' form on the Contact Us page of our website
Use one of the complaint forms on the Contact Us page of our website - including easy English and pictorial forms
Click the feedback smileys icon on any IOE email signature
Use our online feedback form at www.bit.ly/IOEFeedback

We've tried to make it as easy as possible for you to provide feedback about any aspect of our service because we genuinely want to know what you think.

All complaints will be handled in accordance with our complaints policy and procedure, which can also be found on our website for your information.

Casual Support Work Recruitment Sessions

We love when our volunteers move onto paid support work with IOE. We hold recruitment sessions four times a year and it all starts with our information sessions!

Attendance at a recruitment information session is an essential step in becoming a support worker with IOE. The next information sessions are as follows:

Monday 26 April – 6pm to 7pm
Saturday 1 May – 11am to 12pm

All applicants who wish to be considered for an interview must complete the online application form www.bit.ly/IOE-SW-Recruitment prior to the information session. The form will also ask you to RSVP to your preferred session.

For more information please contact Anna Billing or Bernadette Cantwell on 9758 5522 or anna.bern@ioe.org.au

Vacant Paid Position

Accounts Payable Administration Officer

This is a full time role based at our Ferntree Gully office. Applications including a cover letter and resume should be emailed to rita.tuccio@ioe.org.au by 5pm on Sunday 28 February 2021.

Find out more on our website: https://www.ioe.org.au/.../work-with-us-2/current-vacancies/