2. At The Welcome Centre we run a variety of English Programs.
Some are in a more formal, classroom setting, while others will
be more social - using games and activities to assist people to
develop their conversational skills in a friendly environment. You
don’t need to be a teacher to volunteer – you just need to have a
great attitude and be ready to have some fun! We also offer private
tutoring for people who find it hard to make it to the centre for
classes. This would suit volunteers who are not able to attend the
centre during business hours and who are able make an ongoing
commitment to meet with a student.
Many of the new arrivals that visit The Welcome Centre do not
have the right to work or study in Australia because of restrictions
on their Visa. This is quite distressing for our friends, as they
wish to contribute to society and be involved in the community.
To encourage this, we run various programs and projects for
our friends to contribute to. So far this has included IT classes,
aerobics, ‘crafternoons’, and gardening projects, but the list is
unlimited! What skills do you have that you would like to share with
a group? Come along and help out in our current programs, or let
us know if you have an idea for something!
Visitors toTheWelcome Centre are often very new to Adelaide.This
presents many challenges for them: navigating the city and their
local area; finding local shops and services; using public transport;
and understanding Australian currency and how to budget – just
to name a few! By volunteering in The Welcome Centre’s Social
Support program, you can spend time with new arrivals and help to
empower them. We also coordinate group tours to various sights/
attractions to welcome our new friends to the city of Adelaide.
English Classes
Welcome Centre Programs
Social Support
3. The Welcome Centre is open Tuesdays and Thursdays 10am to
4pm, and Wednesdays 10am to 6pm. During this time we have
volunteers available to greet visitors, and tell them about everything
we do at The Welcome Centre in a casual, friendly setting. Many
people will require material aid as they move into empty houses
with little funds to purchase items.Volunteers can assist on the spot
with smaller household items from our donations, while requests
for larger items of furniture need to be recorded and then matched
to a donor by our Material Aid team. Sometimes we cannot help
people with what they need, but we do have a great network of
support services throughout Adelaide, and computers on hand to
find the information needed. In between visitors, volunteers can be
found organising/cleaning the centre, providing admin support, or
simply joining in with the programs that are running that day.
Do you have a passion for networking and promotions? Since 2011, Welcome to Australia has:
• Expanded to seven branches throughout Australia
• Appeared on Channel Ten’s ‘The Project’ twice
• Drawn over 12,000 people to its annual national event Walk Together in 2013
• Signed up ambassadors such as Missy Higgins, The Wiggles, Imogen Bailey, Lehmo, Ivan
Maric, Katie Noonan, Tom Ballard, and many more
• Reached over 100,000 facebook likes
• Had over $40,000 pledged toward a Crowd Funding campaign
We love holding events, and taking opportunities to tell people about what we do, about the
compassionate Australia that we are helping to build, and how they can get involved. We host
Welcome Parties throughout the year, which requires volunteers to work with other community
groups and/or councils to coordinate these events. Walk Together is held annually, and we are
looking to beat our record from last year by attracting even more people! We are always on
the lookout for other marketing and fundraising opportunities – fairs, concerts, community days,
festivals… If you love to get out there and network, then contact us about volunteering in this
area!
Drop In Centre:
Marketing and Event Management
Are you a computer whiz? Are you good at design? Are you a
great communicator? With everything that Welcome to Australia
has going on, we can always use people who are happy to spend
a couple of hours on a computer helping us get the paperwork
done. This can be data entry, replying to emails, designing flyers
for upcoming events, plus anything and everything else! We have
computers available for our volunteers to use at The Welcome
Centre, or you can bring your own along.
Administration
4. We are lucky enough at The Welcome Centre to have many
people in the community willing to donate furniture and other
items that can be of use to new arrivals. As we have limited
storage at The Welcome Centre, the Material Aid Team is
required to match furniture donors with new arrivals who have
requested the same item, preferably within close proximity.
About once a week volunteers will go to collect items from
various donors and then distribute these to the new arrivals
at their place of residence. It sounds simple, but imagine the
feeling, knowing that someone with an injured back who had
been sleeping on the floor for 8 months would now have a
mattress thanks to the generosity of the community and the
Material Aid team providing this service. There are plenty
of stories just like this one, which is why our volunteers find
working on the Material Aid team highly rewarding.
We are now in the process of recruiting volunteers with
qualifications, or who are currently studying in these areas in
order to expand our services at The Welcome Centre. If you
have a passion for helping asylum seekers, and would like to
gain some practical experience, please contact us to find out
how you can get involved.
Material Aid Team
Counselling Services / Legal Services
www.welcometoaustralia.org.au
www.facebook.com/WelcomeCentreAdelaide
To find out more, email kelly@welcometoaustralia.org.au
FarshadYGM@Yahoo.com
