TOTAL VOLUNTEER HOURS — 14,990
CSF interviewers – this year our busiest shift ( in terms of number of client cases ) was the Thursday PM shift , followed by the Tuesday PM team , and not too far behind were the Wednesday PM interviewers in third place .
2000 1500 1000 500
0
BUSIEST SHIFT - CLIENT CASES
1443 1191 1167 1147 1097
666 628 485 430
Another tremendous effort from the 111 volunteers at CSF , with still almost 15,000 recorded hours , despite having as much as a 90 % reduction in volunteers during the worst stages of the pandemic . It really feels like this year has been split up into before and after Covid-19 :
BEFORE COVID-19 The volunteer roles at CSF are varied and one group of volunteers that often get forgotten but work each year between August and October are our Tax Help volunteers . CSF has participated in this program for over 30 years now , and last year they saw 112 people who had limited access to computers or were unable to complete their tax return themselves and required additional support . We were also fortunate enough to have Linda Wright , who worked after hours ( 4 – 6 ) to assist those who had work commitments during the day but were still eligible for free tax assistance , and welcomed a new volunteer Stephen Bradbury in 2019 .
Every year we recognise our volunteers for their service . This year , Pat Bloom , ever so reliable on reception , and Deb Simpson , patiently deciphering our writing doing data entry , have been recognised for 5 years , with Lou Wilkinson , all-rounder extraordinaire , and David Triplow , the ultimate gentleman , both up for 20 years of service .
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Last but not least , Terry Mackay , our Treasurer and No . 1 Tiger ’ s supporter , has made it to 25 years . It is a testament to the culture ( or perhaps treats ) we have here that makes people want to remain and keep supporting their community !
Our commitment to work closely with RMIT and Chisholm to provide students with an opportunity to complete their placement hours and support those attempting to gain employment in community services continues , and we are fortunate to have retained many of the students who finished placements as volunteers . We were even lucky enough to employ one student , Gemma Lambe , in a full time Operations Coordinator role this year . Another volunteer was recently employed by DHHS Child Protection , while another is now working with Launch Housing . CSF often receives feedback from former volunteers that the time spent here was invaluable for their development / employment opportunities .
AFTER COVID-19 Our team has always been responsive to changes in the community , and at an unprecedented time in our lives with Covid-19 , CSF continued to adapt to the needs of our community .
When we moved to our Limited Client Contact Action Plan in March , and had to close our reception doors and change our operations to phone delivery only , we were able to not only modify our service and still provide material aid for those in the Frankston LGA , but also add services , such as home deliveries , in response to the pandemic restrictions with people having to self-isolate and / or stay at home .
As case numbers and restrictions increased , unfortunately many of our volunteers sadly had to step away , which meant our volunteer numbers dropped this year and all future student placements and expressions of interest were put on a wait list . We were however very fortunate to have redeployments from Frankston City Council to assist in maintaining and increasing our services . These redeployed staff have proved to be amazing additions to our team , covering the many hours and shifts our volunteers were previously undertaking .
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Community Support Frankston