By Megan Watts, President of Diversity ACT
One of the great joys of being both President and Volunteer Coordinator at Diversity ACT, is that I get to see the amazing work of our volunteers in a little more depth than most. And I have to say, I am absolutely in awe of what this incredible group of people do and have done to help make the ACT a safer and more inclusive community for LGBTIAQ+ people.
Over the almost ten years since Diversity ACT came into being, some of our high-profile volunteers have achieved awards for their work. I’m thinking about people like Delia Quigley, who in 2018 was the ACT Senior Volunteer of the year. And Liz Stephens, who was the 2021 ACT Senior Woman of the Year. Shay-Leigh Willis received a commendation in the 2018 Chief Minister’s Inclusion Awards as an Emerging Young Leader, as well as the 2018 Young Canberra Personal Achievement Award. There have been other awards and commendations for Diversity ACT volunteers from organisations like Volunteering ACT, and the ACT Children’s Week Committee.
I note that we have covered off awards at the youth and senior ends of the spectrum, but that all our award winners have been women or non-binary people. Is there a bit of a challenge for the rest of the community there? Or is this simply a reflection of the data that Volunteering Australia found in 2021 that “Women are more likely to volunteer than men in ‘parenting, children and youth’ (16.4% and 9.3% respectively) and ‘health and welfare’ organisations (15.6% and 7.1% respectively)?” Food for thought there.
But volunteering isn’t really about awards, even though it’s wonderful to see hard work being recognised. For me at least, volunteering is about using my gifts and my time to make a difference in the community. As a middle-class, white, highly educated cis-gendered woman, I have had the opportunity to gain a set of very useful abilities – public speaking, writing, administration & event coordination are some of the skills that are very valuable in my volunteer work. But there’s a heap of other important skills that I appreciate in many of Diversity ACT’s volunteers.
For those people who enjoy gardening – thank you so much for making sure that the Diversity Hub grounds and gardens are safe, tidy and beautiful in all the seasons. For the people who serve on the Management Committee and the subcommittees – thank you for your time, energy, initiative, imagination and capacity to work together. For the people who make the delicious food that is served at our events and at the Repair Café, as well as the jams and preserves that are sold to raise funds for us – while my waistline may not appreciate you, my tastebuds certainly do! The people who set up and pack up events; the Youth Group adult and young adult leaders; the Southside Women’s team; the people who recycle cans and bottles and transfer the funds to the Diversity ACT account; those who clean the Hub, clear the mailbox, and all those other jobs that just need to be done, you are all wonderful.
The Diversity ACT volunteers truly are making the world better, together. Thank you!
References
Volunteering Australia. 2021. Volunteering & Gender Key Statistics March 2021. Retrieved from https://www.volunteeringaustralia.org/wp-content/uploads/VA-Gender-Statistics-Factsheet.pdf