Everyones story is different...

Every project is different and so is the impact it has on both the volunteer and the community. Not only are our volunteers helping create sustainable change, the experience for them is often life changing as well. For some it’s a complete change in direction or lifestyle, for others it’s a change in their psyche. Read on to discover how working with ICV transformed these seven people’s lives…

To read about the difference ICV has made to communities click here

Jeanette Regan: Striking a balance

Life is all about balance. It’s about having time to do the things that are important to you, the things that you love to do. Over the last two years ICV volunteer Jeanette Regan has been actively choosing to bring more balance into her life… and it all began with her participation in one of ICV’s Cross Cultural Awareness Workshops. Read more...

Allinta Rose: Helping yourself by helping others

“I really feel like I made a difference, but it’s a two-way street. We both got something out of it – they learnt new skills and I gained valuable experience.”Allinta has since found a full-time job with First Australians Business (FAB) a not-for profit business that helps Indigenous people who are starting their own business. “My volunteer experience definitely helped me to get the job,” Allinta says. Read more...

 

Brian Byrne: Retirement with a Difference

“Now I do the things I like to do, rather than what I have to do” is Brian Byrne’s motto for retirement. Brian’s curiosity was sparked in 2001 while thinking through his retirement plans and seeing an advertisement for ICV―he has been volunteering ever since. A teacher by profession, Brian’s desire to share his skills with others stemmed from an awareness of the deficit of educational opportunities experienced by many Indigenous communities. Read more...

 

Nathan Dyer & Anthea Whan: Leaving the city behind

“Having already resigned from our jobs with an accounting firm on Collins Street, Melbourne, we quickly packed, attended the cultural awareness program in Canberra, left the city behind and found ourselves driving down the ‘main’ street of Robinson River community towards the ‘donga’ that was to be our home for the next 5 months.” Read more...

 

Katherine Hall: The Warmun experience…ends with an award

“My time at Warmun taught me so much about myself and on my return home I began a whole new approach to drawing which involved an inward gaze, somehow reflecting my experience and relationship with the land. This resulted in a series of charcoal drawings, which won first prize at the Bunbury Regional Art Galleries 2004 South Western Times Survey. For this I thank the artists at Warmun.” Read more...

 

Tracy Svensson: From Volunteer to Volunteer Manager

Motivated by a six-week stint as a volunteer with ICV in Katherine, third-generation public servant Tracy Svensson is now the national volunteer manager for
Indigenous Community Volunteers. Read more...