Making a world of difference
By Amy Sims
“The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.” - Coretta Scott King
Fellow readers, the motion before us today is that the success of our community relies on the active involvement of our volunteers. The greatness or success of our community can be measured in increased sales for our businesses, increased visitors to the region, fewer complaints from customers, decreased unemployment rate, the list goes on. I am here today to affirm that Coretta Scott King’s words of wisdom twenty years ago are still relevant today. The future of our community is in the hands of our volunteers.
Firstly, volunteering provides the opportunity to become an active member of our community and has a lasting, positive impact on society at large. Community involvement enables people to acquire new life skills and knowledge, as well as provide help to those in need. We have seen the positive impact this has had on several of our team, first hand. Many of the Lincolns team have gained experience and developed management skills by being part of community organisations. This has required them to manage groups of people, undertake performance reviews with staff, develop strategic plans for the organisation and many other tasks which are beyond their normal job description. More importantly they can then apply these new skills to their own work and life giving them a sense of fulfilment.
Secondly, volunteering in the community broadens your network of contacts. It enables you to interact with people outside your usual group. Lincolns selflessly provides training to community groups to help others to broaden their skills. Providing training enables the organisations to make better business decisions which has a flow on effect to their members, employees, customers and suppliers. Those that attend our seminars can also call upon Lincolns for support or as a resource at a later date. This is a fantastic way to connect organisations with the right people to get good business advice for their organisation.
Lastly, it feels damn good to give back to our community! A lot of small organisations rely on donations from the community. Often the service they provide is limited due to lack of funding or the lack of members who can help. Recently Lincolns donated a baby grand piano to the Albany City Wind Ensemble. We hope this will enable the ACWE to present more concerts raising more money for other charities. It is reassuring to know a small gesture has a flow on effect not only benefiting one organisation but many other organisations as well.
I am sure you will agree the greatness of our community does rely on its volunteers. Now is the time to stop thinking about ourselves and start thinking about how we can help an organisation in our community.
Hi, my name is Negative Neville and I would like to make a rebuttal. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2014 only 31% of adults in Australia participated in volunteer work. If the future of our community relies on the active involvement of our members, we are in BIG trouble. People nowadays are just too busy, you only need to ask how someone is? Busy! It is ridiculous to think the success of our community is reliant on people giving up their weekend to man the Bunnings sausage sizzle. People need to look after themselves first.
People who do volunteer often spread themselves too thin. They aren’t just committed to one job they are usually involved in two or three others as well. Don’t get me wrong, these people do an amazing job but they are overcommitted. They have too many balls up in the air and struggle to keep their head above water. It is only a matter of time before the balls come crashing down and one if not more of the organisations are left with a bigger mess to clean up.
We understand people like the camaraderie that goes with being involved in the community. But in all honesty, you are better off getting a puppy. A puppy won’t make you choose between your work and the organisation during times of need, a puppy will not interrupt you at work with a “quick” question, a puppy will not consume your thoughts day in, day out. A puppy will however happily greet you at the door when you get home late, a puppy will take you for long walks on the beach to relieve the stress in your busy day, a puppy will still love you no matter what.
In closing I ask you to consider your own self-worth. How do you value yourself as a person? Are you someone who is always busy? Forget about the “greatness of our community” and think about yourself for a change. Work out what is important to you and do it well!
Neville, you suggest people need to be more selfish. You are happy to reap the rewards of building a greater community but don’t want to do anything to help?
Absolutely, there are people out there who have plenty of time on their hands, these are the people who should be volunteering. Not the people who do not have enough time to run their own business and still have a decent home life. I am more than happy to buy raffle tickets and attend charity events. Can you honestly say running yourself ragged is worth it?
It may be hard work at times but the reward of helping others is totally worth it.
National Volunteer Week will be held 20 - 26 May. Next week celebrates 30 years of this annual celebration where we acknowledge the generous contribution of our nation’s volunteers. The theme for National Volunteer Week 2019 is “Making a world of difference”.
Single Touch Payroll
The countdown to the introduction of Single Touch Payroll for all employers is now on. In preparation for the 1 July deadline, we are posting weekly tips and tricks on our Facebook and Instagram pages. Here's a snapshot of our tips so far:
Tip 1 - Be Prepared When Away. When planning time away from the office and you do not have access to your payroll system make sure you have a backup plan in place. The ATO will not grant an exemption or a deferral whilst you are away. Call us if you need assistance to work out your backup plan.
Tip 2 - Get the right accounting software. Unfortunately you will no longer be able to operate your payroll using a manual system. Now is the time to investigate accounting software which is STP compliant. Give us a call to discuss which accounting software is right for your business.Please note, exemptions may be available for micro employers although it is best not to rely on this exemption.
Tip 3 - Don’t worry be happy. There seems to be a lot of hype about STP. But in all honesty it is not that big of a deal. We will provide you with a lot of tips and tricks to help you through and make your life easier. If you have a question about STP feel free to comment here or PM us.
Tip 4 - See Ya Later, Alligator. Now is the time to terminate any employees who no longer work for you. This helps to tidy up your payroll system moving forward. Don’t worry you still have a while, Crocodile
Tip 5 - Let’s get you ready - Step 1. You will need to allocate each payroll category to an ATO reporting category. Most payroll systems will check your payroll details and tell you what’s missing. If you get stuck please call us.
Follow us on Facebook or Instagram to join the conversation and stay informed. And, if you need help with your Single Touch Payroll, call us on 9841 1200.
