Dear Volunteers,

Welcome to our October issue of our Volunteer Newsletter. 

It has been a busy few months of new volunteer training, session delivery and building relationships with new organisations and partners. 

We're receiving an incredible number of requests from community groups wanting to host sessions which is such a wonderful reflection of the trust they have in The Water Well Project and in all of you.

To meet this growing need, we'd love your help - even if you only have a couple of hours to spare. Every little bit truly counts. This month, communities are especially requesting sessions on diabetes, women's health and sun safety.  Your time, care and presence make such a lasting difference- thank you for continuing to show up for our communities.  Please book in for a session HERE.

Please read on to hear more about:

⭐  What we have been up to
⭐  Volunteering Training
⭐  Our special volunteer event 
⭐  Our star volunteer of the month.
⭐  Upcoming sessions 
⭐  Our successful end of financial year fundraising campaign

I look forward to seeing you all at our volunteer celebration event next month.

Kind Regards,

Chisholm Institute Frankston, EAL Classs - Mental Health and Wellbeing.  Volunteers - Joel Begley and Louise Rath

The sun was shining in Melbourne as we came together last weekend for our New Volunteer Training - a fantastic morning of learning, laughter, and sharing.

Our new volunteers explored how to deliver engaging health education sessions while strengthening their understanding of culturally responsive practice, ensuring our work remains inclusive for people from refugee, asylum seeker, and migrant backgrounds.

The inspiring and energising morning continued with connections over a delicious morning tea.

A big thank you to everyone who joined us - we can't wait to see our new volunteers put their learning into action in the coming weeks!

If you are an existing volunteer who has not facilitated a session recently - please watch our wonderful new refresher video! 

Here, our health educators Mahisha and Ruby go through what you need to know, to bring yourself back up to speed!

Interpreters play a vital role in making sure everyone can take part in group health education sessions. But leading a session with an interpreter can feel a bit different. How do you keep discussions flowing, make space for questions, and ensure nothing gets lost in translation?

Our Health Educator, Mahisha has put together some practical tips to help you get the most out of working with interpreters. Read them here!

Since joining The Water Well Project last year, Rachel has facilitated an incredible 8 sessions so far! We are so grateful for her generosity in sharing her knowledge and time, and her dedication to the community. 

Amongst the questions we asked Rachel, we asked her what her favourite moment from a session has been...

"My favourite session was with a multicultural group of students from the Box Hill Institute on Navigating the Australian Healthcare System. It was lovely to hear the group share stories of their experiences and tips with each other, as well as seeing the lightbulb moments when participants understood when would be more appropriate to go to their general practitioner versus the emergency department"

Make sure you check out Rachel's full profile here!

We're so excited to introduce our two wonderful new Consumer Engagement Coordinators, Bec and Simone. They're warm, approachable and always happy to help with any questions, feedback or ideas you may have.

Bec and Simone are the friendly faces behind the scenes who organise all of our sessions. They'll be in touch with you before and after each session to make sure you have everything you need.

As Linny mentioned above, demand for sessions is growing faster than we can currently meet, so if you're able to check out the upcoming sessions and sign up where you can, Bec and Simone would really appreciate it - they work closely with our community representatives and don't like disappointing them by having to cancel sessions.

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who supported our EOFY Double Donation campaign - through donations, social media shares, and kind, supportive words.

With the generous boost from The Phil Taylor Foundation, we are so incredibly proud and grateful to share that we raised a total of $58,588.29.

These funds will allow us to continue delivering much needed health education sessions to communities from migrant, refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds. Together with partner organisations, we will improve health literacy, build confidence, and support better access to care.

WE STILL NEED YOUR SUPPORT!

Donate today to empower people from migrant, refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds with vital health knowledge.

Now more than ever, access to clear, reliable and accurate health information is essential. Demand for our sessions continues to grow beyond our current capacity. If you believe in health equity and are able to support us, your donation will help ensure we can continue this important work.

No longer wish to volunteer with The Water Well Project?