Ferntree Gully Belgrave
Storm debris finally sorted in Emerald
ECLC celebrates 50 years of service
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Tuesday, 28 May, 2024
Mail Upwey author launches new novel
See Real Estate liftout
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Stalwart of the game Monbulk Football Club’s reserves co-coach Dean White notched up 250 games on Saturday 25 May, helping lead the team to a victory over Woori Yallock. Having played for both the reserves and the seniors, White has been a stalwart of the club and the game in the outer east. It was a day of celebration for the reserves, not only with White’s milestone but seeing a resounding win for the Hawks after a round six loss last week to Narre Warren. To see all of Monbulk’s football and netball results, turn to page 37 in sport
Monbulk Football Club’s Dean White gets chaired off after game 250 on Saturday 25 May. Picture: MONBULK FOOTBALL NETBALL CLUB
We have just had a national week to celebrate them but stats reveal...
Volunteer crisis It’s been a well known fact that volunteer numbers have dropped but recent figures, released during National Volunteer Week, have shown the impact. Volunteer Australia found that when it came to young people, a quarter don’t volunteer for financial reasons and over half of volunteers said they’d incurred a cost in order to give their time. The Australian Bureau of Statistics data also
found a percentage drop of up to 30 per cent in formal volunteering across three local municipalities, with the demand for volunteers felt across a broad range of organisations and charities to continue offering the services they provide. Emerald-Monbulk Wildlife Shelter founder Carol Seagar said without her full roster of volunteers to care for and tend to injured wildlife, the service would cease to exist.
“If I didn’t have volunteers, this place would really shut down,” she said. The data also found a shift in how people volunteer, with more people electing to do informal volunteering, rather than dedicating themselves to one organisation, instead offering support to the community in different ways. Emerald SES unit controller Ben Owen confirmed this too, especially post the pandemic,
they have had to change their priorities. “People’s lives post Covid have changed, we’ve got to adapt,” he said. But even so, the encouragement to join an online course or volunteer in a way that suits the individual rang true to the National Volunteer Week theme of ‘Something for Everyone’. To read more turn to page 10
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