A volunteers network has been forced to quit Melton and Caroline Springs after failing to find funding for a second year running.
Volunteer West will shut its doors at the end of this month, despite making repeated requests to Melton council to back its service.
The organisation’s chief executive says the council’s decision will have flow-on effects in hundreds of local groups relying on volunteers.
Ken Phillips said newly arrived migrants, asylum seekers, people with disabilities
and long-term unemployed have relied on Volunteer West to connect them to local volunteering opportunities in community agencies and local support services.
“Communities as a whole wouldn’t survive without volunteers – the entire fabric [of society] would grind to a halt,” Mr Phillips said. “It’s a loss of service.”
Volunteer West has been running in Melton for the past two years and Caroline Springs for the past 12 months. Mr Phillips said the non-profit organisation received $10,000 from council in 2014, half of which was used to pay for a meeting room at Melton library.
The group has been unsuccessful in its grant applications to the council twice since last year, despite a 37 per cent increase in inquiries.
“Whilst I understand councils are concerned about rate-capping, I still believe volunteering is a key part of community development,” Mr Phillips said. “This is going to impact further down the line.”
He expects many people once likely to volunteer will now “be left out in the cold”.
“If we can give people a good experience volunteering, they’ll continue to volunteer even when they start working,” Mr Phillips said.
Volunteering Victoria chief executive Sue Noble said Volunteer West’s services in growth areas are vital, and not just for connecting people who are disadvantaged into community.
“Organisations like Volunteer West have a very important role in building connections between different parts of their community,” Ms Noble said. “What is incredibly disappointing, I think, is that the council doesn’t recognise that an investment in Volunteer West, and the work they do, is an investment in the community.
“It’s a relatively small investment in an organisation that has a tremendous flow-on benefit throughout the community.”
Melton council community services general manager Maurie Heaney said council has referred about 30 people to Volunteer West in the past 18 months.
“It is disappointing that Volunteer West has made the decision to cease its services.”
