Celebrating diverse volunteers building stronger communities
Today is International Volunteer Day!
International Volunteer Day is an annual celebration on 5 December that highlights the power of volunteering to strengthen communities and create positive change.
This year, the United Nations theme for International Volunteer Day is ‘Diverse Volunteers, Stronger Communities’. This theme really sums up CMY volunteers – an incredibly diverse network of over 500 dedicated individuals from all different backgrounds, who contribute their time and skills to support our work across a range of programs.
Whether they are mentoring young jobseekers, sharing insights with newly-arrived young people on their settlement journey, supporting young people in police custody, or contributing to our youth leadership programs – volunteers are at the heart of what we do at CMY!
Ahead of International Volunteer Day, we hosted a Volunteer Celebration event last week to thank our volunteers for the passion, lived experience and commitment they bring to supporting young people from migrant and refugee backgrounds.
The event held at the Multicultural Hub in Melbourne was an opportunity to celebrate the year that was, bringing together diverse volunteers from across CMY programs and showcasing their contributions throughout the year.
We heard from a panel of volunteers from the Youth Referral and Independent Persons Program (YRIPP), Settling Smarter and Youth Advisory Group (YAG), who reflected on their own journeys with CMY. The event was emceed by Shout Out speakers Hamza and Aliet, and featured an interactive icebreaker with Sagalee, Founder of Shooters Shoot and Locationest.
Thank you to everyone who came along to celebrate the spirit of volunteering with us, and once again, a huge thank you to all of our volunteers. Each and every one of you plays a critical role in shaping the experiences of multicultural youth in Victoria and strengthening our community, and we are so grateful for your efforts and support.
Do you want to volunteer with us at CMY? Find out more here.