The following reports show the success of IVMA Day celebrations around the world from our 2007 IVMA Day.
REPORT POSTED BY WARRINGTON ASSOCIATION FOR VOLUNTEER MANAGERS (UK)
WAVM Conference IVMA Day 2007
Over 40 people attended our fourth annual conference held on IVMA day this year. It was a real privilege to pick up words of wisdom from Andy Fryar reminding us that volunteer managers around the world share the same experiences as ourselves, and encouraging us to get in contact and learn from each other. We also found out about the value of joining the newly formed UK Association of Volunteer Managers – a voice that will help our profession to develop and gain recognition. The day was packed with useful workshops sending us away with some real “food for thought” and by way of celebration we all enjoyed a free glass of fair trade wine and chocolate courtesy of our sponsors North West Co-op. The theme for the day was “Volunteer Management: A Piece of Cake?” we certainly enjoyed several slices and will be back for more in the future!
REPORT POSTED BY VOLUNTEERING NEW ZEALAND
A number of special events were held on 1 November to mark International Volunteer Managers Appreciation Day in NZ and to give recognition to those who take responsibility for volunteer teams.
In Wellington, more than 30 volunteer managers came together at a breakfast forum in the board room of KPMG. Organised by Volunteer Wellington and Ann Hodson volunteer manager with the Cancer Society, people were wowed by a magnificent view of Wellington harbour at its best and then listened to a succinct talk from Tim Barnett MP and a diverse group telling the salient points that make their volunteer programmes work well.
In New Plymouth 40 Managers attended a Morning Tea put on by the Mayor at the Civic Centre. Local Volunteer Centre manager Heather Dodunski filled a 'goodie bag' for each attendee.
A number of new people were there and the comment from a many of them was that they were finally able to talk personally to managers that they had only had contact over the email etc with up until then.
Nelson also had a breakfast for coordinators/managers, attended by 21 people. Mary Garner, Coordinator at Hospice spoke about the senior managers retreat she recently attended in Australia.
Hawkes Bay launched a volunteer managers and co-ordinators network with a coffee morning, There was good feedback. Co-ordinators don’t have a voice as yet in that region and they want to change that. The local paper reported on the event.
REPORT POSTED BY LAM MOY YIN, MOVE, Singapore
Just to update you on what MOVE (Managing & Organising Volunteer Efforts) has done in Singapore to celebrate IVMA Day 2007.
1) On 31 Oct, at the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Conference organised by NVPC, Chairman , MOVE was given 5 mins to make an announcement about IVMA Day and acknowledged the VPMs who attended the conference. About 500 attended the conference and now they are aware of IVMA day. :P
2) MOVE also prepared a survival kit for all VPMs and we had a networking session after the conference on 31 Oct. The survival kit includes items to help VPMs to press on in their work such as a tea bag to perk them up, stress ball for them to ease their stress by squeezing it, a magnet to remind them of their role to attract volunteers to their organisations etc. This survival kit was a hit and we managed to gave about 40-50 kits to the VPMs in the conference.
3) We have also highlighted IVMA Day on our website http://www.move.org.sg/
TAKE PRIDE IN AMERICA mailed letters of appreciation to voluntyeer coordinators across the USA within the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management and the US Fish and Wildlife Service