IB Woman
Issue No. 30 - August/September 2006
Meet SA’s volunteering supremo
Moira Deslandes
by Penelope Herbert
“When you vote, you only vote every few years and you hope your vote will make a difference,” says Moira Deslandes. “But when you volunteer you create the society you want every day – it’s the ultimate way to make a difference.”
As the CEO of Volunteering SA Inc, Moira Deslandes knows a thing or two about the dynamic contribution tens of thousands of volunteers make to our communities.
Starting her working life as a social worker gave Moira problem solving and change management skills that developed in to policy and planning positions within the social services sector. Her move to CEO of Volunteering SA Inc just 12-months ago has seen her take up the reins of a powerful social vehicle.
“The United Nations defines volunteering as the gift of time, talent and energy,” she says, “and South Australia has the best rate of volunteering in Australia. Over 50% of our state population volunteers in some form and that’s worth more than $5 billion annually.”
Moira says the days when volunteers “filled a gap” are gone and that Volunteering SA seeks to build the capacity of volunteers to have a quality volunteer experience.
With 800 not-for-profit organisations in South Australia, she says volunteers are evident from small community groups in regional SA to large international organisations like the Red Cross.
With a budget of less than $1million, Volunteering SA walks the talk and has 40 volunteers supporting eight full-time staff,
“Our key challenge is to re-market the volunteer brand and be the voice of volunteers,” says Moira.
“South Australia has been branded the ‘Brilliant Blend’ and one of the ways SA remains fabulous is through our huge network of volunteers – they are definitely part of that brilliant blend we call South Australia.”
Helping organisations adapt to the changing expectations of volunteers is part of the process. Volunteers look for different exper...
