Annual Report 2015 | Page 32

Volunteer stories Supporters Community Support Frankston would like to acknowledge anyone who anonymously contributed and the following individuals, businesses, organisations who have kindly donated money or their products and services. Why I volunteer at CSF MAJOR SUPPORTERS Michelle Olley James Campbell I began volunteering at Community Support Frankston in 2013. I was starting a Community Services Diploma and I wanted to gain experience working with people who were experiencing disadvantage and hardship. Growing up, I have been incredibly lucky to have had a strong family, a good education, and with it a lot of opportunities. As we know, for many and varied reasons, not everyone in our community has this privilege. But whatever lies behind a person’s personal circumstances, everyone deserves the kinds of support, compassion and assistance from the broader community that will help to make a difference in their life. CSF has provided me with a platform to not just be able to gain practical experience, but also to be a part of my community in a positive way. I enjoy being able to support others and to help ease some of the issues they are dealing with. Our clients come from a broad range of complex social situations, and having such dedicated volunteers and supervisors ensures that our neediest in the community have support - even if it’s an ear to listen to their problems or some food to get them through to payday. A community can be best judged by how they treat their most vulnerable, and I am proud to say I am a part of this organisation that does so much for the Frankston municipality. I believe that agencies like CSF have a vital role to play in combatting the systemic disadvantage in our community. Obviously, being just one person, sometimes it feels as though there is little you can do to make the change that we need on a large scale. But what I have learned from CSF is that, so often, it is the little things you can do that really make a difference. Listening to clients, lending a hand, sharing a laugh – these are the small things that, every day, can really make a difference for the day-to-day lives of people in our community. That is why I volunteer with CSF: I believe it is incumbent upon me to do my bit to give back, and to do those small things for people that can work towards making a change. Barrie Thomas, Triple A Foundation Community Support Frankston Volunteers Department of Social Services (DSS) Frankston City Council Frankston Magistrates’ Court Operation Larder R.E. Ross Trust SUPPORTERS Chapel of the Resurrection – Peninsula School Peninsula Health Brumby’s Mount Eliza Peninsula School Brumby’s Towerhill Rotary Club of Frankston North DBD Database Services Rotary Club of Frankston Sunrise Frankston Churches Community Breakfast Seaford Uniting Church Frankston Presbyterian Church St James the Less Frankston Wranglers Charity Club St John’s Primary School Hospira Mulgrave St Luke’s Church – Bible Group Kananook Pre School Telstra Kogo Women’s Aglow Frankston Langwarrin Community Centre Langwarrin Girl Guides Gadija Hoossen Lions Club of Frankston Marjorie Manchester Mansfield Nursery Denise Nichols Monterey Secondary College Rose Piper Mornington Peninsula Community Connections Stephanie Ryan and family VOICES OF FRANKSTON CHOIR SUPPORTERS Avocare Rapid Relief Team (RRT) SecondBite 30 The measure of a civilization is how it treats its weakest members Community Support Frankston | Annual Report 2015 31