WCC Annual Report | Page 19

Client Services Despite these challenges, WVRS achieves significant social connection and results for local people with just one worker and a dedicated small team of volunteers. In the future, focus will be to maintain a strong volunteer profile, increasing both the number of volunteers and number of opportunities through creating real, meaningful local volunteer opportunities. Fostering and growing partnerships and projects with other groups to share resources will strengthen the case for support from government and other funding bodies. CASE STUDY Maria [not her real name] just moved back to Australia after living in Italy for more than 20 years. After many attempts at gaining a job interview without any success, she turned to WVRS for volunteering opportunities. After discussing her interests and skills, WVRS matched her with a local school program to work with children and parents, which was something she really enjoyed. Her commitment and skills were highly valued by the school and, inspired, she returned to WVRS after a few months, seeking another volunteer role to build up more experience for her study. We referred her to a local hospital, and for a period she volunteered for both organisations. Through volunteering, she built up more confidence and felt more connected with her community. As the experience was advantageous for her, she encouraged her son take up volunteering to