What's happening to 'volunteerism' in the country?
Show Notes
Is 'volunteerism dead... or dying'? We know volunteer numbers in the city are dropping, but are our rural volunteers feeling burnt out too? And why is often the same few people doing all the hard work?
Angie Nisbet, host and creator of "Married to the Land" podcast joins us for this special collaboration episode of Ducks on the Pond.
Angie lives in north-western QLD, 80 km south of Hughenden, where she's a rural mother, wife, grazier, podcast host... and dedicated community volunteer, including at the Fashions on the Field, at the Cloncurry Race Day.
But, with many women now balancing work and family responsibilities, finding spare time to volunteer can be daunting. Yet so many of our schools, sporting clubs, local events and fire services rely on volunteers to function.
Kirsten and Jackie volunteer locally too. All three of us love it. But there have been some tough lessons along the way. So, join us for some very candid conversations about volunteering in the country and the demands of modern life.
This podcast is produced by the Rural Podcasting Co.
***Are you a rural woman looking to get your brand in front of other rural women? Well hello! We're looking for episode sponsors! Email us at ducksonthepond.podcast@gmail.com or send us a DM over Instagram for more information.
-
Angie Nisbet: 0:06
It's called a committee for reasons, because one it's for community and it's about your commitment. So if you want to be in the community, how much commitment do you have for that committee?
Kirsten Diprose: 0:16
Hello, you're listening to Ducks on the Pond brought to you by the Rural Podcasting Co. I'm Kirsten Dipros, and Jackie Elliot is here too, welcome. It's great to be here, and I'm so excited about today's episode because it's one I'm very passionate about, which is community events and volunteering, yeah, and joining us is the delightful Angie Misbet, host of the Married to the Land podcast, which highlights the lives of different rural and remote women and how they got to be on the land essentially.
Jackie Elliott: 0:45
And Kirsten. That's something that we are both married to the land ourselves, although I grew up on a farm and you're more of a city girl ringing.
Kirsten Diprose: 0:53
That's me, can't back a trailer.
Jackie Elliott: 0:55
But you can organise a community event.
Kirsten Diprose: 0:58
Yes, thank you and I love it. Well, mainly love it, which is what we really talk about, I think, in this episode. Sometimes I give myself a near heart attack by taking on too much.
Jackie Elliott: 1:08
And me too, or I do actually have the stress and this thing that even if it's a sell out event online and the numbers are showing, my fear is that no one's going to turn up.
Kirsten Diprose: 1:19
Well, our next guest is also a community volunteer and, as we mentioned, a podcaster, creator and, of course, host of Married to the Land.
Jackie Elliott: 1:28
And this is the first time we've ever done something like this, so it's a podcast collaboration where you and I have sat down with Angie, a Queensland based farmer, to have a chat.
Kirsten Diprose: 1:38
I'm not really sure who actually hosted this one. We kind of took turns, although I may have taken the reins a little bit.
Jackie Elliott: 1:44
But I must say it probably comes to you so naturally.
Kirsten Diprose: 1:47
But Jackie, aren't you nice? Well, let's drop you into the conversation where, of course, I ask the first question. I think it kind of makes a lot of sense that we're collaborating on this episode and we're talking about community and that concept of community, and the three of us all volunteer, whether it's in our local communities or in a broader sense. We often hear that volunteering is dead. Is that true, angie? I'll start with you.
Angie Nisbet: 2:18
We're situated in Central Western Queensland volunteering. I don't think it's dead, I just feel like people feel quite flogged by the idea, if that makes sense. I know there are so many events on the calendar and I feel like sometimes the community want to add more in and it may be the same people always putting their hand up to go. You know, I'll take this role, I'll take that role. So I feel like you can get quite thinly spread across those committees and it's hard to get people involved, especially, I suppose, breaking that stigma around having young people coming into a committee. I think a lot of people think it's an older type role, which I think is something we really need to sort of break down, because fresh ideas are wonderful in committees and it's just trying to lure those people in, to get on those committees, to get involved.
Kirsten Diprose: 3:05
And what do you do in a volunteering sense and how do you balance it with your work life?
Angie Nisbet: 3:12
We have a lot of balls up in the air with the property, and then my podcast, and then my kids have just started homeschool this year. But for me I don't know. I kind of get a bit of an adrenaline rush. Volunteering with our local events, I help out with our local race meets, fashion on the field staff, so that keeps me pretty busy.
Kirsten Diprose: 3:33
Jackie, tell us a bit about you and what you do as a volunteer.
Jackie Elliott: 3:38
I volunteer in a lot of things and I've probably been fortunate to grow up with parents who have always volunteered, whether it's local land care, cfa. For myself personally, last few years my volunteer role was expanded to rule women's day, which we run start off as a one-off event. Never thought I'd do more than the one and now we're running several, if not a dozen, a year across Australia and that's still in a volunteer role. And then we've got ducks on the pond podcast by the volunteer. And then my family is very involved in Sheepvention and in Hamilton that runs annually. It's a large rural expo and my husband's a convener on that.
Kirsten Diprose: 4:18
So I suppose my background is yeah, I live near Jackie. I mean, what are we, I don't know? 50k's away, so by Queensland, that's neighbours, right in Victoria. That's a little bit of a drive, but the same area and probably my biggest volunteering role and probably my biggest gig in my life, I think, will be being president of our local hall. I think it's probably going to be a job for life. I was made secretary, I don't know, maybe 10 years ago or nine years ago, and then after a few years the president retired and so I have risen to the dizzy heights of president and where I will probably remain till my death. To be honest, it was a bit of fun at first for me, but I actually really, really love it and I've gained so much out of it. And now I'm on the board of South West TAFE and I have to say my first governance exposure was actually through the Woodhouse.
Angie Nisbet: 5:16
Hall. So how many community events would there be within your area like a year?
Jackie Elliott: 5:23
So Byaduk is the little township that I live in. There's 120 people but there's probably only like 10 or maybe like eight houses in town and we're probably fortunate in a way. We actually have a local cricket club that has often had two sides and it's got a women's team as well and we have those. A lot of those travel out from Hamilton, so it's about 30 kilometres away to do training on Thursday nights. It's quite nice to see when there's a few cars park there even in the off season where they're literally just catching up and you know there's got a little bar down there. We actually lost our local pub, which is about five, ten k's away and it closed down and I think that they were used to, in the off season, go there for tea or even after training. They go there, like, have a pub meal for dinner, but that's where the cricket club's done really well to go. No, we need to continue having dinner. We can't just come for training and go home again. So they always put on that barbecue and they've got that. You know, their own bar at the club. And then we also have the annual Buy it Up Flower show and it's been going for a long time, I think the stats just come out. They had like 800 entries or something in just November. It's a one day event and it's only like a 10 to 4 event and that committee catches up regularly. And then we've got Hamilton, 30 Ks away, which is post, you know, Hamilton, Sheepention, and then there's other various events, but Sheepvention is probably the main event that I've been involved in and of interest as well to attend. I think in the shy there's like 200 or 300 events.
Angie Nisbet: 7:00
Yeah, that's a lot of. We definitely don't have that many events, but we call it our silly season. So you sort of hit April, and then there's April right through till, I'm going to say, the end of October, when there's something on every weekend. What to attend and what not to attend is always what race meet do you go to, what race meet don't you go to? But yeah, they're always busy. It does take up a fair bit of time, but I think it's a love passion sort of project a lot of the time.
Kirsten Diprose: 7:25
I want to put it out there. Is it just the same people volunteering, is it? What is it like for you and Jean, your region, absolutely.
Angie Nisbet: 7:37
It's always the same people and I don't know if they get them at a week's spot or if they just love the pressure or the pain or whatever it is. Some people are really fantastic in those roles up here. But you know, it's some of those roles where you just like you know there really needs to be some change in the water because things are just rolling a lot quicker than what we can probably keep up with, and so I think as committees we also need to have that change as well.
Kirsten Diprose: 8:03
There's something wrong with that, though, isn't there? Like that, it's always the same people. I mean, I am trying to get better at boundaries and not feeling guilty. I love my role at the Woodhouse Hall, and our committee has changed over the last few years. We've got more people in their 30s and 40s, while still having some older people there and their insights, which is great, and we're doing different stuff. Like we just had a comedy show. We had like professional comedians come out from Melbourne and you know, we made a bit of money for the hall and had a really great night. But I kind of just keep saying to myself no, I do the hall for my community. I don't also need to be on the Red Cross and the P&F at school, like I'll help out in terms of flip sausages and sell cupcakes on the day, but I just don't want to organise anything. I'll come to events and help, but not that. How do you navigate the constant community commitments and the love for it, but also the fact that you can't do everything?
Angie Nisbet: 9:07
I think I probably came to the realisation quite early what I was not good at, so I wasn't going to put myself in position to take those roles within the committees that needed. Set those boundaries really early, maybe just taking a step back from those P&C meetings and finding probably what your passion is and really immersing yourself in that committee or community event and I think you tend to thrive a lot more, like I know for me. I love doing fashion as a field. I've done it for a long time and you know probably I'm getting to that age where I don't need to participate in it, but I love seeing that younger generation come through and I really try and source that side for the committee that I'm on and step away from that secretarial role, because I'm not someone who has lists and is great attention to details. I think you need to identify within yourself what you're good at and then, as you said, Jackie, maybe even go to the committee and go. I'm not great at this, but I'm really good at this.
Jackie Elliott: 10:05
I think so too, angie. I guess you'd have a lot of Jackaroos, jillaroos coming into the area, perhaps just for the season, and going again, or they might be moving up the road to another station. And do you find, getting those young ones on board, that you're not capturing the seasonal workers because? Are they thinking, oh no, I'm not getting involved because I don't know if I'm going to be here next year when, really, like that could be, they could be a perfect position for a short term on that committee or, you know, on the day support or leading up to the event, how do you engage those people? Or are you engaging those people and are people like the employers in the area, the business owners, the station managers, allowing time and supporting their staff to get involved in their community?
Angie Nisbet: 10:53
That's a great question, Jackie. Yeah, we do. We've got quite transient workers. We've got lots of station hands that come up, just do the 12 months and go guvies and stuff like that. I think you can either saturate them with the opportunity and really just throw it at them and they become quite overwhelming, or you can approach it in the fact that you tell people you know, if you want to get involved in the community and have some fun and really make the year worthwhile, then you know, come along to a meeting, don't take a role, but just sit there, get to know a few people, and I think that gentle approach yeah, I remember being a young person who moved to Bendigo when I was a reporter and I was only there for a bit over a year.
Kirsten Diprose: 11:34
I knew I was probably only going to be there for a year to 18 months and it was a fantastic community, obviously larger than, like, our rural communities. Yeah, you didn't sort of know how to get involved, but when people tapped you on the shoulder and said, hey, I'd love you to come to this, that's when you really thought, oh, okay, then maybe I should. Or they'd specifically say, oh, I think you'd really be good at this. And you've got to remember, when you're young you don't necessarily always know what you're good at and sometimes it's someone who's a little bit older that can see it and I think, yeah, you just got to remember that.
Angie Nisbet: 12:10
Yeah, absolutely on that too, I think, with community and events. They might not want to be a part of the race committee or the sheep committee or whatever it might be, but yeah, I think definitely taking someone along to a committee and not putting that pressure on them is great.
Kirsten Diprose: 12:26
You know, sometimes I think, okay, what can we, as if you're on a committee. But how do we attract people or make them feel involved? The responsibilities both ways, like it's easy to say, oh, no one wants to do it. You know, we have to do everything. Well, maybe, I don't know, are we hogging the roles too much or any thoughts on that?
Angie Nisbet: 12:48
Oh, I know, Jackie, do you want to? You've done a lot of events, especially in the women's aspect side of things. You know women. I think it falls on their shoulders a lot, so I don't know what's in your experience. What's that been like?
Jackie Elliott: 13:00
I think it probably comes down to one of the reasons why I started Royal Women's Day because I was involved in other committees and local events and, to a degree, I was feeling like your ideas and stuff weren't valued and welcome because they were new. Like and this is going back I was about 15, 16 and, and you know, I wanted to get on and be a committee member and I remember this lady who was like just and it wasn't in my current local community. It was where I spent a bit of time growing up and remember she threatened to get the book out. She's like she's too young to be a committee member. However, you, as long as I think the age is like 12, like it's not like you could be a part of the local hall committee as long as you were 12 or something you know as a voting member and that kind of thing, and that broke my heart a little bit. And then I didn't want to be involved because I was like no, I've, obviously they don't want you to be included, so you don't want to be involved. There's been other local events that come into town and I've reached out to say you know, can I help? I can do social media, I can do this, and you always met with oh yes, our meetings, like I'd say before you know, Tuesday at 12 o'clock, and like I live an hour and a half away, I can't be there at that meeting time, but this is how I can offer and they're like oh, we do need young people to carry things or help us move tables on the day, and I can offer so much more than carrying tables and I'm certainly not going to just turn up now to carry tables. You can find someone else that's maybe already there, because when you get a pushback like that as a young person, it is really hard to keep at it. That's where I've created a women's day and in some ways, I'm really fortunate. So we know there's three directors on women's day, because we've become a company limited by guarantee under a not for profit, but our three directors. So there's myself, my mom and Emma, who's, I guess, our third director, but she doesn't run events. So we had to actually take that role away from someone wanting to run events. We just needed, like, a neutral person that wants to attend and support events and have great ideas or gives great feedback, particularly to me if, if I can't make it to an event, but Emma can attend to ensure that our women's day brand is being displayed and we're authentic and it is, you know, following our guidelines. And then, yeah, as I keep working and growing and bringing on more individuals, I've probably found that there's some of the people that I work with form their own small committee and they've always been the harder and more difficult teams to work with because they've got a gel on different ideas. And for me, there's been times in the last 12 months where I've had to say, you know, particularly because there's usually one person out of the group that I would be speaking to, so where I would say look, if you want me to step up, I can ask someone to step away from the committee because it's not, it's not a fit, it's not a match. But at the same time, my response is always at the end is I don't live in your community and you have to continue living there. How far do we want to take this or do we want to let this slide? Do we want to say yes, to do some people pleasing, to get something to the line, like we're always learning, I think, as people like we'll never going to always get it right, but when you start involving yourself in in that and involving people, you soon start to pick out who's actually there to assist, and I know of the last few events that I have run that there was a particular girl and her mom that we're continually buying into coming to the event and they were always the last ones to leave. They were always the last one, like almost the first ones, to get there to help and go. Can I do something? And they're always the last ones helping clean up, pack up, you know dishes and leave with a huge smile on their face. And once I've started identifying those people, then actually ones that I go to first and say I really want you to come and actually be a part of this event. However, I'd like to offer you a free ticket because I know you assist and help so much. So it's and that's taken like three, four years now to work with these people out. One fun thing, I guess, that we brought in this year, and just as a bit of a tongue in cheek idea, but we got aprons and got them print like embroidered for a women's day and we gave them to a few of our very close dear friends and supporters and people that have been there to help, and we've said if you come to an event wearing apron, we know you want to help on that day, but if you come to an event without your apron, we know you're just there to enjoy it and socialise and and that's a bit of a respectful boundary that you know that if they take their apron off, they want to have a break, because you know we're all volunteers and we're all putting in, but our people, our volunteers, need to be able to enjoy it as much as well. So, yeah, I think there's ways that we can communicate better as as a group, for who we're working with and going. Yes, we're going to need hands on deck at some time, all the time, but there's also a chance for everyone to actually be able to enjoy the event or what they're a part of.
Kirsten Diprose: 18:14
What about the notion of consensus? How do your committees or in your experience that you've seen, agree on something?
Angie Nisbet: 18:24
Well, I don't know about you guys, but I know up here when we run committee meetings and this is very new to me in the last couple of years it was actually such an eye opener to actually go to a proper AGM or an actual meeting and actually see it run as what they can. A lot of the committees up here are quite old, so they have constitutions of how things are done and then I think as the years went on, some things have changed, you know, especially in the last five to 10 years with social media and COVID. But for us it's always been very much. We go back to the Constitution and what that says in there. Generally, voting is quite big. If it's a big decision, Our committees up here definitely goes to a vote. But yeah, I mean they're not always the best decisions, but I think some of them have been fantastic and you live and learn on what that looks like. It is a hard one, but for us, you know, was going back to the rule books and why that, how that committee got formed and watched the actual mission or vision or statement was for that event.
Kirsten Diprose: 19:28
Yeah, I think that's so important to have a constitution, even if it's only a basic one. I have in the past had the case where there was sort of one person who was quite domineering, and that is really difficult when you're in that situation and at least having this sort of constitution, if you can't get some sort of agreeance, then you've got that to fall back on to say, look, the way that we do it is to put up emotion If it's seconded and then we can decide whether it's carried. It's so good to have something there that everybody knows the rules and that's it.
Angie Nisbet: 20:08
I think even just as I said before, ladies like how a meeting actually runs and how to pass motions, was for me really interesting, and I think I had to sit in on like four or five meetings. Actually, I sort of understand that, but that was really interesting for me. I think some things just get passed through a Facebook message here and there and then things happen. You're like hang on a minute, where did you know? Where? How's this happen? Why does this happen? So I think getting back to these basics and learning how to run a meeting is super important as well.
Jackie Elliott: 20:39
And it was actually something that's taught in primary school or high school as a skill, because I think, in general, running any meeting needs to have some kind of structure. I think that's why it's important to encourage other people's opinion, because everyone sees a different perspective or sees an idea in a different way, but that idea that's either been put forward or decision to be made if you can actually get everyone else's point of view and encourage people to share their feedback, that idea or decision that you're potentially swinging one way or the other can become 100% bigger and better than perhaps the initial idea or vision that was made.
Kirsten Diprose: 21:20
Yeah, that's so true. And it also comes back to diversity on boards too, like diversity on committees, to get that diversity of you having people of different ages and gender splits and all of that sort of thing. Speaking of gender split, do you think volunteering is split fairly across men and women in general?
Angie Nisbet: 21:40
Yeah, no, I think that's very, very, very dated. You see it in farming businesses or too often the females generally take that office role and I think sometimes it's probably not not the best position for that person. I think some blokes have some fantastic ideas that they just don't wanna say them or the fear of I don't know what it might be imposter syndrome, I don't know. But I think there is definitely that stereotype that the men generally with the committee, take on that heavy lifting role and the female will do the books and the reaching out and the emails and the banking stuff, like that. I think there definitely needs to be a change in that aspect.
Kirsten Diprose: 22:23
What about ladies? Bring a plate. Does that still happen where you are, Angie?
Angie Nisbet: 22:29
Yeah, barbecue, bring a plate to share.
Kirsten Diprose: 22:32
Yeah, who's bringing?
Angie Nisbet: 22:33
the plate, bring the salad.
Kirsten Diprose: 22:35
I feel like that's got a copyright on every invitation, so long as it's not directed at the ladies, but it still does come down to the women, though, doesn't it? I don't know how many of the men have brought the salad.
Angie Nisbet: 22:47
Yeah, no, the men are on the barbecue and the women will make the salad. Still haven't.
Kirsten Diprose: 22:51
Still and I'm like I just realised I was doing this so for ones that have really organised and done all of this sort of stuff, I still feel the pressure of like, oh, I better bring a slice for supper, because that's the woman's job that you have to do. And then I'm like what I want? To bring a slice for supper.
Jackie Elliott: 23:09
Yeah, I think the best one was and it happened a couple of years ago and it was at the Buy it Up Flower Show or Spring Show. And they do sandwiches, they do an afternoon tea, and I don't think I've ever seen a bloke cutting around sandwiches for the afternoon ever. They all happily eat them, but I don't think I've actually ever seen them in the kitchen. I mean, look, there might be a few handful of guys that do assist, but not in the time that I've seen it happen. But they actually. And this is where I thought about and thought, oh, this is really different. I was in a situation where, like at the time, I was living an hour and a half away and just travelling back through to the area on weekends and they'd write out a list of ingredients and what they needed to make these sandwiches, which is great because, yes, we organise everyone. But then they're like can you get like two kilos of red tomatoes? And that was my contribution. And I'm like do you know what I would rather do? I'd rather give you $50, like, keep the change, add it to someone else's shopping list, because where am I going to get time between Monday and Friday, being an hour and a half away to grab the two kilos of tomatoes and drop them off to a certain person at a certain time between the hours of three and four o'clock on a Friday afternoon. Like things just need adapting a lot.
Angie Nisbet: 24:28
Yeah, that, yeah, great point you brought up there, jackie. I do have a question, actually, and I actually got asked this the other day and I couldn't answer it. Someone said to me oh, what do you think are the five best tips for making a committee? Do you guys have five tips, or three or four tips for a foundation to starting a good committee?
Kirsten Diprose: 24:45
Well, I think it goes back to the point we made earlier about the Constitution. So have good governance set up. My second one would just always approach things with an open heart and an open mind, in that people might only have a certain skillset or a certain capacity, or they may not be the best communicator in a committee setting, but they love the community like nothing else and are really great at mowing the lawns right Like. That to me is just as important as any other job that needs to get done, so kind of, I think, recognise who you've got and how you can bring them together to form that committee, but also just putting it out there to see what people will voluntarily take up. So I think it's about getting people involved in a way that makes sense for them.
Angie Nisbet: 25:40
Is that enough? No, no, that's great. I'm literally writing this down because I'm probably gonna pop these in a Facebook message to the person who asked me.
Jackie Elliott: 25:48
Like I really like what Kerson touched on there about flexibility, and I think you have to be flexible Generally. Whoever's a part of that committee. There's that respect and probably unwritten rule about things are gonna be flexible, particularly in rural communities. But one thing that we implemented when we become a company limited by guarantee and we got a lawyer to write out about terms and conditions is I can't remember the exact terms of it, but it's a position where either party can step away, basically no questions asked. So when we have a volunteer host, come on, perhaps they're halfway through organising their event because we're all over what's happening with their event. If something happened or if committees, relationships can fall apart, things can change. We actually through rural women's day. We are in a position where we can take over the reins and say we'd like you to step away, but we're going to continue with this or we cancel whatever's going forward, depending on all the situations, or they actually, as part of their terms and conditions, they can come to us and say we need to step away from this, we can no longer participate, and there's no questions asked. So I think giving people an out is really important and I think that goes for whether it's in a little small town that runs an annual event with, you know, 10 people involved on the committee or between one or two parties. I think it's important to have that discussion earlier.
Kirsten Diprose: 27:20
That's a good point and in terms of like dotting the eyes and crossing the T's, it just made me think, oh, insurance, like it's boring to think about. But you need to make sure you've got your public liability. You know, if you're at a hall, it's like if someone is hired at your hall and they break their leg, who's liable? You don't want them suing your little organisation. So, yeah, you have to make sure you've got all of that explained and legally robust. And I think my final one and I was just thinking is is really just make people feel valued, and that's about the people who are on the committee, people who are helping out just on the day or in smaller ways, and the people who are attending events. It's making people feel valued and the community feel valued. I think if that's your driving force, then yeah, because you're constantly balancing you know the best event ever with your resources and the people you have and making sure that they feel valued. And to me that's just as important.
Jackie Elliott: 28:21
Yeah, I agree Because I think of valuing who's on your committee and the time and effort that they put in. Also, part of it would be the purpose of what you're trying to deliver and making that really clear. So, setting values as a committee. So if you are trying to make a decision and it comes down to voting, but if more discussion needs to be happened around what you're doing, leaning back on and going, all right, well, these are our values. Is this going to support a benefit X, y, z, value that we're trying to achieve with our event? So, like, what's the purpose of the event that we're trying to deliver? And keeping that clear in that discussion. What about you?
Kirsten Diprose: 29:00
Angie, anything that you would add to that?
Angie Nisbet: 29:03
Probably not as far as tips or you know a foundational kind of stuff. But a lady that an older lady, she was on the CWA. She said to me it's called a committee for reasons, because one it's for community and it's about your commitment. So if you want to be in the community, how much commitment do you have for that committee? And I was like, well, that's really that, put it into two perspectives. If you want to go on a committee, then you need to step up in that position as well and know it is a community event and what's your commitment within that role? If you can't do it, that's okay, take the backseat. But that was very profound for me. I was like what a great way of looking at it.
Kirsten Diprose: 29:40
Yeah, exactly, if you've got a role, then you really need to ensure you can perform that role. And then it's really about people on that committee, if they're smart about it, to try and get other people involved for as much capacity as they can. You know, if someone's got young kids, it might not make sense for them to be the secretary for that time period, but you know they might just want to do one small thing. Yeah, I remember struggling being the secretary with two young kids and we had this great big event and it was an amazing event. It was this Anzac Day thing. So our town of 150, we drew more than 300 people to commemorate Anzac Day. But I had a baby and a toddler and I remember just like trying to make calls and they're screaming and then even trying to get there and I'm pushing a pram and then I'm going to breastfeed and like I was exhausted and I probably should have said I don't think I could. I can do it, but I just didn't know how to.
Angie Nisbet: 30:39
No, I totally agree with you on that. I think when you've got energetic people in a community but that do have kids, yeah, maybe just take the pressure off them a bit of it. You know, I know a story for me my sister's got four, I've got three. You know, we got thrown in the deep end of running a cow cutter at the races and we had to look after seven children under 12.
Jackie Elliott: 31:02
So you're running a baby circus alongside the running.
Angie Nisbet: 31:04
I was like hang on a minute, you know. So it's just those things. I think that really needs to be addressed.
Kirsten Diprose: 31:12
Because it's the unseen work, like pairing is often the unseen, or preparing food it's like it doesn't count, but it takes up time. You can't avoid it and that can frustrate me or even cleaning. So of late, our committee we've actually been getting a cleaner and we can afford that now because our events have gotten bigger. So we're, you know, doing these big events that are bringing a lot more cash and we're like you know what it's more value for our time to be spent on. And I guess look at reflects who's on our committee at the moment, and possibly me somewhat too, as in you know, yes, I can clean the toilets, but I can also organise these events and we can get a professional cleaner in and pay her a couple of hundred dollars to do that job for us when we're bringing more money in to it. But it was this point of contention that I almost had in myself, like oh gosh, should we be using this money on a cleaner? But I'm like we have to clean the place before an event because often the hall won't get used for months and then we have an event and that's dusty and it's you know, I don't know. Do you think it's okay?
Angie Nisbet: 32:23
I, yeah, I think you need to invest in the right areas to get that stuff done. If it's going to take a job off your list and there's someone in the area who's willing to put their hand up to do it and they get paid to do it. I know a great example of that for us is every year at our, at our race meets, we have always have a sewerage problem and for however many years, we have the same person cleaning it out and he's a local, he owns the place that it's on, and so I think someone suggested well, why are we getting you to do it every year when we can pay someone within the community to do that who are happy to do it because they don't attend the races anyway and they can get paid to provide a service? And I think, yeah, just investing your money in the right areas can sometimes work in your favour to put back into that community.
Kirsten Diprose: 33:08
Well, that makes me feel better and yeah, we're providing a local job.
Angie Nisbet: 33:13
You do not need to feel bad about that.
Jackie Elliott: 33:15
I would have just been like clean out.
Angie Nisbet: 33:17
Yeah, already non-negotiable.
Kirsten Diprose: 33:20
Can we avoid the committee? I'm not saying we should, but like the thoughts on that. Like does volunteering always have to involve a committee of management?
Jackie Elliott: 33:30
Look, small rural communities. I'm sure if you're not involved in some way you or your partner they must sit around and go. Well, they do nothing. And I think we need to stop assuming what people are involved in or what we do and don't know about people in our community and their life. And I think that comes from a place where there are so many roles that rural and regional people can be a part of, particularly volunteering, that isn't actually within their own local community. And then you've got you know households and things that come on top of that and you know where people are involved in their business or anything like that, and people sometimes don't have time to actually be involved and I guess that might come down to why we always end up with the same people over and over again volunteering and being a part of committees but I don't have time, like I just like when do you think I'm doing it?
Kirsten Diprose: 34:24
I'm doing it at night. I'm checking emails at weird times of the day while I'm trying to do other stuff. Like no one has time and no one has time, that's right and I think do it when you, I think after becoming a mum, I just gave up on any semblance of like time for me. That's really terrible, that it's just like, oh it's fine, I'll just pile it on, I'll get it done. Because I'll just get it done, I don't have recreation time.
Jackie Elliott: 34:48
If you actually think about all the hours that you put in to volunteering. Unless you're living for that, you people have to live a life too. If people step back in their capacity of how they can help, just be lucky that they haven't gone all together. Or there might be people that don't necessarily want to be involved on the committee, but they're more than happy to make a contribution or be there on the day to buy 10 tickets and bring their friends.
Kirsten Diprose: 35:13
They're allowed to have an opinion, but there's nothing worse. If you're too busy and you can't get up, that's fine, you know. But if you have a really strong opinion and you're there at every meeting giving your opinion, you know where to be seen.
Angie Nisbet: 35:27
I think if you attend the event and you've got feedback and you've got a solution to the problem, definitely shared that, yeah, feedback is definitely welcome, but I think you need to be prepared to have at least a option or a solution and then be open that other people might have better solutions for whatever that problem might be.
Kirsten Diprose: 35:51
I always have a filter of B constructive, like am I actually helping? Am I being constructive in terms of how you're delivering something? So, yes, having a solution and the time in which you deliver it to. There's nothing worse, just before an event, when someone comes with a great idea and you're like the event's tomorrow.
Jackie Elliott: 36:14
How long have you been showing off for?
Kirsten Diprose: 36:15
six months. Yeah, yeah, definitely. It's like being constructive. Is that constructive to just pop that on someone two days before an event, or is that maybe a next year thing? So future predictions now where do you think volunteering will be five to 10 years from now in general, and in the country, In rural country setting.
Angie Nisbet: 36:42
My hope is that a lot more young people want to come back into the areas we're starting to do a very small percentage of people wanting to come back this way. So I'm hoping, hoping that that influx will increase and with that will come people wanting to put back into the community and, you know, in turn volunteering will be just an easy thing. So you know, I'd love that to happen. I think it needs to happen. I think there's definitely an opportunity there for that to happen In the city. I'm not experienced enough to know what that looks like. All I can say is, from like PNC point of views, I think if you can get involvement from both male and females it would be fantastic. I think sharing the load is a necessity sometimes with those committees. Thanks, Angie.
Jackie Elliott: 37:32
I think for me, I think volunteering I look at perhaps our local CFA I think huge things will keep changing in that space as far as safety and protecting those volunteers. So perhaps there is a component where there needs to be money, where they're employing and paying the captain to ensure the safety of those volunteers, ensuring that they do attend their safety training. But I think that's going to get harder and harder because I guess the more someone in a tall, high rise building is making decisions for what's happening on the ground in rural and regional communities, particularly around like the CFA, there's becoming unrealistic expectations of those volunteers that they have to meet requirements. Safety governance is getting harder and harder to keep up with and you need particular skills and your general volunteer committee. Sometimes that's like a full-time job in managing and running that thing and if you haven't got the money to pay someone to do that because at the end of the day generally that's the situation you have to go in the and the role that you have to advertise and employ someone that's skilled enough to facilitate whatever part of that is, in some ways I'd like to be hopeful that our volunteer groups can continue to stick around, but I'd also hope that if there is someone making the decisions that they're really thinking about, practical, on the ground support that can be provided to these events without costing an arm and a leg. Where these events in our rural and regional communities are suffering because of financial costs, just to build on that point.
Kirsten Diprose: 39:15
I was sort of thinking around. Say, particularly volunteering at school and the Parents and Friends Association you know what you're talking about, jackie often comes down to the cost of things and then the cost of living. So we know how expensive it is to do anything these days and that puts a particular challenge for any committee. But then we live in a society now where both men and women have to work, and do work more often than not, which means there's just less available time for volunteering and people have to make choices of like, well, actually I can't help out in that because I need to work and we have to accept that when it comes to like things like canteen and the expectation that mothers and yes, it is mothers who are gonna be volunteering in the canteen between nine and 12, three days a week, are available to do, that I think is becoming increasingly unfair kind of expectation and to be organising events for schools, and I think Parents and Friends are going to still want to have a say, of course, and still want to do stuff and raise money, which is great. But some of those kind of traditional volunteering jobs has really just been the free labor of women and I think we just have to push back on that a little bit and make sure that women are doing the roles that they want to and feel valued in doing them. And if you want to volunteer in the canteen, it's a great way of spying on your kids, particularly when they're teenagers, I've been told. So there are benefits, like you get to see them in their natural environment, you see what they're really like. But I just think we need to make sure that volunteering is for the benefit of the community and for the individual and not a pressure. So that's where I see the future hopefully going. But I do come back to being optimistic because it is so amazing and it goes back to what you said, angie, at this very start about the buzz that you feel after the successful event and that's what I do it for as well, like when I look around and I see everyone from the community there and you see people like from farmers, who've always been there, to the backpacker, to the mum who really comes out, but whatever it is, and you see them all there having a great time and you go, wow, look what we did. There's no better feeling Like I love it and that's what keeps me going and I think that's what keeps every volunteer going and that's why we still do it.
Angie Nisbet: 41:51
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. When you can talk about an event that's six months away and you're all talking about, you know what's the go-to thing. I think that entails a really good, positive, optimistic outlook.
Jackie Elliott: 42:03
I agree. What a great way to finish.
Kirsten Diprose: 42:05
And so that's it for our Ducks on the Pond. Collaboration with the awesome Angie Nisbert of Married to the Land. I think, despite a lot of negativity, the future of volunteering is in safe hands, and you'll have to let us know what your friends think of our tips for starting a committee.
Jackie Elliott: 42:22
And a special shout out to you, our listeners and those ones at home that play a huge part in their community. Whether it be a major role or a small part, every moment you spend giving back to your community is valued, so give yourself a pat on the back.
Kirsten Diprose: 42:35
And if you know of an amazing volunteer in your community or someone you think we should be interviewing, then please get in touch via our details in the show notes or you can DM us on Instagram at ducks on the pond. And, by the way, we're also on the lookout for sponsors. So if you'd like a naming credit and a brief interview about what you offer, then please let us know.
Jackie Elliott: 42:56
And a special thanks again to Angie Nisbert from the amazing Married to the Land podcast. I can feel a future collaborations happening and we should add, we press stop recording. Just before we had this really great conversation with other ideas in mind. So thank you so much, Angie.
Kirsten Diprose: 43:12
Yeah, they were controversial, so I'm not sure if I mean. Maybe I'll just do it with Angie, maybe, maybe you'll have to. Thank you so much for listening. This is a Rural Podcast in Co-production and we'll catch you next time.
