Volunteering, farewells, the Sharks and police

Gig Buddies Sydney
Apr 12, 2021
2 min read

National Volunteer Week is upon us and to pay homage to our wonderful volunteers we’ve reached out to our participants, who have taken the time to answer a series of questions.

We start proceedings with today’s question: what motivated you to volunteer with Gig Buddies Sydney?

In their own words, “National Volunteer Week is the annual celebration to acknowledge the generous contribution of our nation’s volunteers.”

Throughout the rest of this week you’ll hear from buddies and volunteers as they share their thoughts and experiences. The answers will appear on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages between today and Friday.

Last Friday (19/5), during the latest Soul Fly Band meeting, our user-led group were joined by Melissa D’archy, Vulnerable Community Liaison Officer at Chatswood Police Station.

Advocating for people with a disability, Soul Fly Band members spoke of their experiences with police and security, while providing advice on how to improve inclusivity and awareness of people with mild to moderate learning disabilities.

Thanks to Mel (third left, below), and to Paul (fourth from the right, below) who also shared stories from the UK on how Gig Buddies in Brighton engage with participants, connect with mainstream festivals and go about organising their social events.

In other news, thanks to all the buddies who joined us in Cronulla for yesterday’s game between the Sharks and Canterbury Bulldogs.

We were part of a 14,004 crowd as the Sharks took the spoils, 22-16.

To see the full gallery from yesterday’s match click here.

We do it all again in three weeks’ time as we return to Cronulla for the Sharks vs. Wests Tigers game (Sunday June 10). We have a number of tickets still available: to book your place get in touch via email - info@gigbuddiessydney.org

And finally, everyone at Gig Buddies Sydney would like to wish a fond farewell to project creator, Paul Richards, who returns to Brighton, England later today (21/5).

Paul has been with us for the past two weeks, overseeing our rebrand efforts and assisting behind the scenes. As a final act of goodwill he appeared on ABC 702 on Saturday, talking with Simon Marnie about the project. You can listen to the interview here (Paul appears at 1 hour 20 minute mark).

Matthew Collins

Gig Buddies Sydney Community Engagement Coordinator

matt@assistcom.org

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Gig Buddies Sydney is an initiative of ACL Disability Services