Welcome to the last issue of Willing and Able for 2011! Another year has passed and it's again time to trim the tree, gather with friends and family and prepare for the holiday rush (and crush) in the shopping centres. You're going to need some down-time with so much going on, so this issue has been stuffed like a stocking full of a little bit of everything. First up we have three end of year reports, a welcome to VNQ's new committee member and details of VNQ's International Volunteer Day celebrations on December 05. We also have news of Summer volunteering opportunities, The RACA Awards results and a link to a consultation paper on the meaning of 'charity'. There is also information on numerous resources, including the official postal address for Santa Claus! Speaking of - be sure to look out for the special Christmas sections, including quotes, information on several annual appeals, some simple parcel mailing tips, details of local Carols sing-a-longs and the annual Stable in the Strand. But wait! There's more! This issue also includes a bonus Disaster Management lift-out, with all sorts of valuable information to help you to prepare for the coming storm season and keep yourselves and your families safe. All this and more, inside!

So why not take a break from hanging up the Christmas tinsel and indulge in this festive edition of Willing and Able!

Nicole

"Christmas is the gentlest, loveliest festival of the revolving year - and yet, for all that, when it speaks, its voice has strong authority."
[ W.J. Cameron ]

"Christmas is a necessity. There has to be at least one day of the year to remind us that we're here for something else besides ourselves."
[ Eric Sevareid ]

"Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas."
[ Peg Bracken ]

When I was a little girl I remember my Nona saying when things didn't go to plan, 'Even the best laid plans of mice and men..." and then she would shrug her shoulders, pick up the pieces of her life and keep going. I was too young to understand life's ironies and thought it was a rather silly comment from a grown up. But reflecting on the past year's achievements and challenges, I have far greater respect for her old-fashioned wisdom and for our community who did just that and picked up the pieces and got on with it.

Like the rest of Townsville, our plan for an orderly start to the year was disrupted by Cyclone Yasi. But flexibility is the key to resilience and that sums up the VNQ team admirably. They continued with the day to day business whilst successfully supporting volunteer recovery initiatives. Community consultations were held and VNQ reviewed its role and capability. Bob Roberson was appointed VNQ Disaster Volunteer Coordinator and the Volunteer Community Recovery Coordination Group (VCRCG) was formed. The group now has over 30 associated members in place to help to coordinate community recovery volunteering. As the storm season approaches, that is a comforting thought.

However, VNQ's achievements don't stop there. Under the guidance of Paula Johnson, VNQ's training and development officer, the communities of Townsville, Bowen, Ayr, Charters Towers, Ingham, Hughendon and Richmond benefited from the VNQ training program.

In the past year, VNQ's talented team of referral officers have supported community groups with their volunteer recruitment needs and directly assisted 1200 volunteers.

At our recent AGM, most of our outgoing committee re-nominated. We thank them for their support over the past year. A special thanks to retiring member Lachlan (Lachie) Marsh and welcome to our newest member, Claire Prenter.

As the year comes to a close, we look forward to the International Volunteer Day Celebration on 5th December. Bob and I are presenting papers at the National Volunteer Conference and Paula will be presenting at a Volunteer Forum. Further exciting projects are in the pipeline for 2012.

Thank you to all our members, partners and friends for your support in the past year.

Finally, no matter how you spend it, I would like to wish you all a joyful and safe Christmas and hope you enjoy a well-earned break. May the New Year bring you much happiness and success.

Regards,

Anita Berry
Manager - Volunteering North Queensland Inc.

Volunteering North Queensland wish to thank retiring Committee Member Lachlan Marsh and give a warm welcome to new Committee Member, Claire Prenter.

The current members of VNQ's Committee are:

Deanne Bell - President
Patricia Staines - Vice President
Karon Pearce - Secretary
Theunis Kotzke - Treasurer
Ellen Conner - Committee
Craig Fahey - Committee
Claire Prenter - Committee

CHRISTMAS CORNER

Another Christmas Quotation

"Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time."

[ Laura Ingalls Wilder ]

End of Year Training Summary

As the year draws to a close, we take a moment to reflect on another year and thank all of the people and organisations that have enabled 2011 to be such a success.

In particular we would like to thank the Australian Government Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet for ongoing funding, key community partners Townsville City Council, Volunteering Queensland (VQ), the Charters Towers Regional Council, Westpac (The Davidson Institute) and the Dept of Education & Training (DET) who have significantly contributed resources and networks, enabling VNQ to diversify its program reach.

We would also like to acknowledge and thank all of the presenters who have contributed their time and knowledge so generously. In particular I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the work of Gerard Byrne 'The Grant Man', trainer, volunteer, mentor and general VNQ advocate who has generously volunteered significant time in 2010/11 to deliver an annual program of submission writing and social networking training for the community. Thank you Gerard for your tireless work. Also a special thanks to Bob Roberson who in early 2011, in response to Cyclone Yasi, was also actively involved in providing Volunteer Safety training in both the Townsville and Ingham regions.

And finally, thank you to all of the participants who have supported our training program by attending, giving feedback and generally building the community networks.

VNQ looks forward to continuing support to the community throughout the forthcoming year and is set to provide an exciting range of training opportunities for communities throughout the NQ region. VNQ also looks forward to opportunities to continue its community partnerships and is in the process of exploring opportunities to provide some of its training activities electronically through media such as webinars and/or skyping, enabling the organisation to extend its reach to the community.

We look forward to seeing you at VNQ training in 2012!

Safe and happy holidays…

Paula Johnson
Training Development Officer

VNQ, in partnership with The Good Shepherd Home and our sponsors NQ Dry Tropics, invite our friends, members and volunteers to join us for the 2011 celebrations at the home. The day will have a format similar to the highly successful 2010 celebrations and will include a community information session, presentations of certificates of appreciation to volunteers nominated by their organisations and entertainment by community performance groups, along with a light lunch and presentation of donated gifts to the Mayors Christmas Tree Appeal.

Bookings and nominations for volunteers for the certificates of appreciation are now open.

Limited certificates are available, so please nominate early to avoid disappointment.

Please RSVP by November 30 for catering.

Nominations for certificates close November 30. Limit of 4 nominations per organisation.

Nominate a volunteer, or RSVP your attendance, to:
Anita Berry - VNQ
Ph: 4725 5990
Email: anita@volunteeringnthqld.org.au

International Volunteer Day
December 05

International Volunteer Day is an annual celebration of those people who give of their time and energy to help out where it's needed; locally or on a larger scale. This event sees participation on a world-wide level, proving that no matter where you live, volunteers are a vital part of every community.

For full details on this special day, please visit the Volunteering Australian website at:

www.volunteeringaustralia.org

More information on International Volunteer Day is also available on the World Volunteer Web website, which is the focal point for the day on a global scale.

www.worldvolunteerweb.org

Thank you to everybody who has supported the VCRCG Program and VNQ in the past twelve months as we have moved to develop a more coordinated approach to Disaster Volunteering.

We now have some significant community support from over 30 community groups and have completed the first phase of community operational plans and are in much better shape should we need to swing into action again during the upcoming wet season.

Early next year we look forward to commencing the Community Education phase of our plans to help build a stronger and more resilient and safer volunteer community.

Thank you to all those involved in the planning and implementation stages of the VCRCG Program. As many of you are aware, the Townsville VCRCG is a true community project that has brought together community volunteer groups to work together to develop a more coordinated approach to community recovery. The programs and strategies that the group have developed also align with the requirements of local disaster management group and Queensland Government expectations. The history and results of this twelve month project will be highlighted nationally during my presentation at the National Volunteer Conference. Congratulations Townsville, you have done yourself proud.

I wish everyone a very happy and incident free Xmas and holiday period.

Bob Roberson
VNQ Disaster Volunteer Coordinator

Disaster Management Bonus Section

The cyclone/storm/rainy season is upon us again. How prepared are you for it?

To help you gauge your level of readiness, VNQ have put together a special bonus section of various disaster management articles from past issues, as well as a couple of new ones.

The bonus section includes:

• Disaster Preparedness
• Taking Care of Yourself when Volunteering
• Disaster Readiness Index
• A useful contacts list for disasters

The Regional Achievement & Community Awards highlight various community and volunteer programs and organisations in Australia, across five categories. The finalists and winners for the Qld division were recently announced.

VNQ was one of 15 finalists in this year's awards - one of 3 finalists in the Community of the Year Award category. While we didn't win, reaching the finals is a tremendous accomplishment for us, on its own.

The winners of this year's awards are:

Business & Employment Award
The Salvation Army Employment Plus

Events and Tourism Award
The Flight Centre

Regional Service Award
The Clark Rubber

Environment and Landcare Award
The Peabody

Community of the Year Award
The Prime Super

Congratulations to all of the winners and finalists!

Details of the awards, winners and all of the finalists are available on the Awards Australia website.

www.awardsaustralia.com

INFO FROM AROUND THE SECTOR

Consultation Paper - Definition of 'Charity'

The Government is seeking feedback from charities and other stakeholders on a definition of charity and charitable purposes and how a single definition can best serve the needs of not-for-profits and their clients, as well as encourage charitable donations.

Submissions close Friday, December 09.

'A Definition of Charity' consultation paper is available to view on the Treasury's website, along with full details on the paper and how to comment.

www.treasury.gov.au

Townsville City Council's annual Christmas appeal for donations to aid local people & families in need.

See the TCC website for full details, including the list of collection points for donations.

www.townsville.qld.gov.au

Child Safety Christmas Tree Appeal

This appeal aims to make Christmas a little brighter for over 8,000 children in out-of-home care.

Gifts need to be suitable for children up to 18 years of age and shouldn't be wrapped. Bags and gift tags will be available at the drop-off point, to make it easier to match each gift to a child.

The appeal closes December 16.

Drop your gifts off under the Christmas Tree at:

Aitkenvale Child Safety Service Centre
71 Patrick St - Aitkenvale

Donations of non-perishable food for the Salvation Army Christmas Appeal may also be left there.

Full details about this appeal on the website.

www.communities.qld.gov.au

Salvation Army Christmas Appeal

Christmas is an especially rough time for many people. The Salvation Army are holding their annual Christmas Appeal, to enable them to support those desperately in need of aid at this time of year.

Along with the drop-off point for non-perishable food mentioned in the previous article, the Salvation Army website contains full details of how you can donate to their appeal and help them to help others.

www.salvationarmy.org.au

Volunteering can be a way for you or your family to make a gift of your time in the lead up to Christmas. Conservation Volunteers has a range of great activities where adults and children are welcome and can work side by side. (Children under 16 must be accompanied by a responsible adult.)

The activities listed below provide an opportunity to become a volunteer for a day and are a fun and interesting way to care for and learn about the environment. Light refreshments of tea, coffee, cakes and biscuits will be provided at all the activities.

Ross River Creekwatch Arvo
December 13 - 3:00pm-6:00pm

Volunteers are welcome to join the group for as long as they are able to attend. This fun filled day is aimed at school students of all ages and will involve catching water bugs and seeing fish rarely seen.

Creekwatch Tour around Townsville
December 17 - 8:00am-1:00pm
January 18, 2012 - 8:00am-1:00pm

Become a scientist for a day, help conduct water quality monitoring and fish bug sampling and learn about the bird and wild life whilst visiting some of the beautiful and rarely seen places across the Townsville catchment area.

Town Common Wildlife and Bird Watching
December 20 - 7:00am-10:00am

Enjoy a short tour of the Town Common, bird watching from the local hides and a talk by a local bird expert.

Off road 4WD Seed Collecting Adventure
January 14, 2012 - 8:00am-1:00pm

Learn about local wildlife and collect seeds for the Community Nursery.

To register for these projects contact:

Volunteering North Queensland
Ph: 47255990 or
Email: vnq@volunteeringnthqld.org.au

Australia Post has made special arrangements with Santa Claus this year. Any letter posted to him at his special postal address will not only reach him, but the child writing to him will receive a personal reply!

Letters to Santa should be addressed to:

Santa
NORTH POLE 9999

To be sure of a reply, send your letter to Santa by December 16. This will give him time to answer it.

Be sure to include your address on the back of the envelope, so Santa knows where to send his reply!

For full details, visit the Australia Post website.

auspost.com.au

Refurbished Computers - DonorTec

Refurbished computers are a way for organisations to upgrade their computers at a fraction of the cost of a new computer. DonorTec is currently offering such computers with discounts for eligible income tax exempt (ITE) Australian non-profit groups.

To participate in this program, groups or charities must be non-government entities and have both:

• an ABN number
• ITE status on the Australian Business Register.

For full details visit the website or contact:

Ph: (07) 3107 1903 - DonorTec

www.donortec.org

The Treasury - Website

All of the Australian Government's Treasury reform resources for non-profit groups can now be accessed via a single web page on the Treasury's website.

This website is also a great resource for a wide variety of other information, including Bills, Acts & Legislation, publications, reports and much more.

www.treasury.gov.au
('Not-for-profit reform' in the 'Business' category)

The SCAMwatch website is run by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). It provides information on how to recognise, avoid and report a wide variety of online and offline scams.

For full details, visit the website or contact:

Ph: 1300 795 995 - SCAMwatch ACCC Infocentre

www.scamwatch.gov.au

Identity Fraud Survey

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) have released an online identity fraud survey to highlight identity theft and how you can protect yourself.

Visit the website to take the survey and learn more.

www.afp.gov.au

Triple Zero Info Posters

The ACMA has A3 sized posters available in 33 languages promoting Triple Zero (000) as Australia's emergency number, for display by your organisation.

Migrants, refugees and overseas visitors are often unaware that Australia uses this special phone number to contact the Police, Fire or Ambulance services in an emergency situation.

The posters are free for download from the website.

www.em.gov.au

CHRISTMAS CORNER

A common question from the little ones at this time of year is: "How many reindeer pull Santa's sleigh?"

According to the 1944 version of the poem 'A Visit from Saint Nicholas' by Clement Clarke Moor, Santa's main sleigh team consists of eight reindeer:

Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder and Blitzen

The song 'Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer', written in 1949 by Johnny Marks, adds one more reindeer - Rudolph - who leads the team and lights the sleigh's way on foggy nights.

Sing-a-long, special guests, the Mayor's Christmas Tree Appeal & more. BYO blankets or chairs.

See the website for full details.

www.townsville.qld.gov.au

Community Christmas Carols
December 05 - 6:00pm-8:15pm
Kirwan State School Oval

Sing-a-long, special guests & more.
BYO blankets or chairs.

Stable on the Strand
December 19-23 - 5:30pm-9:30pm
The Strand

Townsville's annual Christmas event.

www.stableonthestrand.com.au

CHRISTMAS CORNER

Parcel Addressing Tips

In the months leading up to Christmas, Australia's mail service gets pretty busy as people send out gifts to family and friends. Unfortunately, a lot of those parcels never make it to their destination because of incorrect addresses or poor labelling.

So here are a few simple tips to ensure that your gifts get delivered to the right place, or that your gift will make it safely back to you if it can't be delivered.

• Check the address with the recipient before-hand
• Write the address clearly with a pen or marker
• Make sure to include the State and the Postcode
• Always include your own address on the back, clearly marked 'Return Address' or 'Sender'

If you follow these tips, your package will be far more likely to reach the intended recipient rather than end up at the unclaimed mail office.

Happy mailing!

2011 wasn't the best year for me and 2012 is looking like being more of the same. But that's part of what I love most about Christmas. It's a time to put aside your tears and fears, your doom and gloom, and just gather together with your loved ones to share some good times. The idea is to have enough fun and make enough warm memories to see you through the coldest, toughest times of the year ahead.

Even if you don't celebrate any particular holiday at this time of year, it's still the perfect time to look back at what you've done in the past year and look forward to what you're going to do in the year to come.

Of course, for many, this season isn't a happy time. It can be stressful, lonely, even depressing. It's a time when absences are felt more keenly and money never seems to stretch as much as it needs to. That's why the annual Christmas appeals are so important and why the spirit of Christmas has always been one of kindness, generosity and goodwill to all. No matter how heavy a heart may be, sometimes the smallest of things can lighten it. If only for a moment.

That knowledge is one of the reasons why so many volunteer their time and skills, not just at Christmas but throughout the whole year.

Perhaps that's why International Volunteer Day is set in December. It's the month of giving - so when better to highlight the many ways that volunteers give back to other people and their communities as a whole?

However you spend this coming festive season, I hope that you stay safe and well and I look forward to seeing all of you here again, in 2012.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Nicole

Complaints - Ph: 1300 362 072;
Ph: 07 3005 7000 (Brisbane);
Fax: 07 3229 4010 (Brisbane);
Website: www.comb.gov.au

Queensland Ombudsman
If you feel you have been treated unfairly by a Queensland public agency or its staff.

Toll Free: 1800 068 908; TTY: 3006 8174;
Ph: 07 3005 7000; Fax: 07 3005 7067;
Email: ombudsman@ombudsman.qld.gov.au;
Website: www.ombudsman.qld.gov.au

Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman
Dispute resolution service for unresolved complaints about telephone or Internet services within Australia.

Toll Free: 1800 062 058
Website: www.tio.com.au

ALL OMBUDSMAN SERVICES ARE FREE

Anti-Discrimination Commission Queensland
Level 2, St. James Place
155 - 157 Denham Street, Townsville;
Ph: 4799 7020, 1300 130 670;
Fax: 4799 7021; TTY: 1300 130 680;
Website: www.adcq.qld.gov.au

Dispute Resolution Service
Level 2, St. James Place
155-157 Denham Street, Townsville;
Ph: 4799 7870, 1800 809 605;
Fax: 4799 7871;
Website: www.justice.qld.gov.au

Office of Fair Trading - Qld Government
Townsville Courthouse
31 Walker Street, Townsville
Ph: 13 13 04; Fax: 4799 7488
Website: www.fairtrading.qld.gov.au

Townsville Community Legal Service
2/181 Sturt Street next to Bendigo Bank
Ph: 4721 5511; Fax: 4721 5499;
Email: townsvillecls@nitrousnet.com.au

Updated every week - Special Events Page
Find out what's on in the local area!
www.volunteeringnthqld.org.au/events.htm

Updated every issue - Newsletter Page
Willing & Able is always available online!
www.volunteeringnthqld.org.au/newsletter.htm

VNQ on Facebook

Bonus section: View the Disaster Management special section.

Bonus page: View the Christmas Card from VNQ for 2011.