Volunteers urged to step up in waterline area

By Celeste Brittain 

THE volunteer crisis continues to plague the waterline area with Coronet Bay desperately needing more locals to step up and help their community.

The reconstituted Coronet Bay Combined Community Group (CBCCG) has expressed there is a need for new volunteers in the area, to help support activities and events.

The CBCCG is an association of affiliated member groups that occur within Coronet Bay, who are responsible for bringing events and activities like the Coronet Bay Fun Run/Walk and New Years Eve Fireworks display. 

The CBCCG is solely made up of volunteers. At present there are three vacant positions; president, vice president and secretary. 

Don McLeish, former vice president and current member of the CBCCG identified there has been a number of factors, including the pandemic, that had affected people’s capacity to volunteer. 

“The older volunteers of the past have moved out of Coronet Bay or decided time for volunteering has reached its use by date for them,” he shared. 

“There is the prevailing need for young families to just exist/survive, and to go on a committee to organise this or that event does not appeal, or indeed they may not have the time to commit.”  

Don also noted that, “If only the same very few organise large community events, although this gets the job done, it does discourage others. 

“So then why upset the apple cart and interfere.”

COVID-19 has been a big factor affecting people’s capacity to volunteer, particularly given Coronet Bay groups, like many others across the state, were not operating like they had been.

The State of Volunteering in Victoria 2020 report published by Volunteering Victoria reflected that in 2019, there were “2.3 million (or 42.1%) of Victorians over 15 years of age who volunteer(ed) in

Victoria,” with volunteers contributing “223.9 hours a year or 4.3hours per week with their fellow Victorians.”

The report relayed that the pandemic had an impact with a “50.2 per cent decline in the volunteering participation rate from 2.3 million to 1.1 million,” in the months of April- May 2020.

Don said that groups within Coronet Bay during the pandemic “remained as active as COVID permitted,” with some groups such as Coronet Bay Un-plugged (an open mic music group) continuing online. 

The fun run/walk that occurred in Coronet Bay this past October was a return to pre-COVID community wide events.  

Other upcoming events include Carols by the Foreshore and the New Year’s Eve Fireworks Display.

The reconstituted CBCCG’s aim, as Don explained, “is to initiate, support, encourage, co-ordinate the affiliated group members and others in the community to actively volunteer to be involved in any event or other activity seen as valuable to the Coronet Bay community or the individual autonomous groups.”

There are number of Coronet Bay groups that those who live within the area and surrounds can actively become involved with. 

These groups include: Ratepayers and Residents Association Inc, Community Garden Inc, Boating and Angling Association Inc, Beach Bums (a social orientated fundraising group), Luminous Gallery (an art focused group), Carols by the Foreshore Group, Un-plugged (an open mic group) and Tai Chi (which currently is being delivered at neighbouring Corinella, at the community hall).

At present, interested people can find a group or contact the CBCCG via the Coronet Bay Facebook page.