GEELONG ANIMAL WELFARE SOCIETY

Over the course of 2022 I volunteered at the Geelong Animal Welfare Society(GAWS). GAWS is a non-for -profit animal welfare organisation that aims to provide the best practice care, community education on caring for pets and re-homing programs for the animals in the shelter. It can also be noted that GAWS receives no government funding and solely relies on the generous support of the community and its volunteers.

This volunteering opportunity was my first leadership position within the Geelong community outside of my Deakin commitments. As an owner of a furry friend myself, I was extremely passionate to make a change in this community and was an experience I enjoyed deeply.
At my time at GAWS I was originally responsible for direct interactions with pets such as cleaning pens and enclosures, and the training and walking of dogs. This then developed into my appointment of being the Wednesday Team Leader of the dog adoptions section. Here, I continued these duties and gained the responsibility of additional leadership roles including being the point of call for informing the public of dog adoption process, providing education on how to appropriately care for dogs, assisting in dog adoption open days and visits such as the Minister of Agriculture visit as well as the training new volunteers.

Through my interactions with the public I was required to ensure that I was learning from experienced leaders and complete my own research so that I was able to provide appropriate and accurate information to the community. Such information constituted dog training tips, application processes for adopting animals and familiarising myself with the legal rights of both the animals and individuals when applying to adopt the animals. In the early days of this role I found it quite challenging and overwhelming at times as I felt I was lacking the knowledge and confidence that came with years of experience as a leader in this field. However, upon reflection of this leadership role I am now able to acknowledge that these tasks required me to step out of my comfort zone and focus on key leadership skills of communication, growth mind-set, resilience and active listening skills. Furthermore, through this leadership role I was given the opportunity to educate members of the community on topics such as caring for their new pet and presentations that are expected as a pet transitions into a new home. I found that my ability to deliver clear communication to members of the community and active listening in response to their questions was a key leadership skill I portrayed. I believe my active listening skills enabled me to build trust, foster a sense of loyalty and highlight my authenticity. Furthermore, I believe that my leadership skills also promoted a smooth adoption process as this experience can often be quite overwhelming for both the pets and adoptees.

Through my responsibility to train new volunteers of their role in the dog adoptions department I was passionate about making the new volunteer feeling welcomed and making it a safe environment for them to ask questions and seek assistance when needed. Through sharing my knowledge and mentoring new members I felt a sense of empowerment, demonstrated my communication skills, emotional intelligence and confidence which contributed to the personal development of both myself and new volunteers within the GAWS community.


GATEWAYS SUPPORT SERVICES

Gateways Support Services: Disability & Autism, is a non for-profit community organisation that aims to support children and adults with disabilities. As an individual in the healthcare environment, I was eager to expand my networks in the Geelong community and immerse myself with an area of healthcare I was unfamiliar with. Here, I volunteered for the Easter Family Fun Festival as an external community volunteer. This event was a highly rewarding experience in which the Gateways Community provided a range of inclusive and accessible activities for all individuals to enjoy including market stalls, creative zones and educational information.

As part of my involvement in the Gateways Community I volunteered to be the Team Leader of the craft station. In my station I was responsible for monitoring and providing adequate craft resources, delegating roles to other volunteer members, educating volunteers on our aims and goals of the day and how to make the Easter headband. As previously mentioned, as an external leader, I found the first few hours of my role to be quite overwhelming. As part of my role I was responsible for answering other volunteers' questions, seeking answers with the upper management team if I was unsure, delegating roles and interacting with community members. As such I was required to demonstrate a high level of emotional intelligence, problem solving, dependability and delegation which I believe are key qualities of leadership. Upon reflection of this experience, I established the importance of leaders having effective communication especially in an unfamiliar team setting.

Moreover, reflecting on this experience, I can now acknowledge the importance of leaders having emotional intelligence skills. During this experience, I ensured that I initiated regular conversations with other volunteers, re-delegated jobs/ areas of the station if I observed that someone was not comfortable with their role and aimed to provide advice such as strategies when communicating with children with disabilities such as demonstrating with actions rather than verbal mediums. Overall, I believe my leadership role in this event enabled me to positively impact the Gateways Community including both children and adults with disabilities and their family members.