In recognising the amazing contribution of our volunteers—past and present—here’s a message from NextSense Chief Executive, Chris Rehn.

'Hi everyone,

For NextSense, our volunteers have always played a crucial role in our success. Volunteers have supported our staff and clients in many ways and as a result, together we’ve been able to redefine what’s possible for people with hearing or vision loss.

In the last year, most of our volunteering across NextSense was temporarily paused due to COVID-19. It was a difficult, but necessary decision to keep our people, our clients, our volunteers, and the community safe during this time. In the last couple of months, we’ve been able to welcome back many of our volunteers to our centres across Australia. And already the impact has been incredible—I’m hearing many positive stories, which is fantastic.

It’s no surprise that we’re in the strong position we are today because of the hard work of many volunteers—so on behalf of the entire NextSense team, I say ‘thank you’ to our volunteers.

I hope you have a great week.'

As Chris said, most NextSense volunteering opportunities were temporarily paused in 2020. But in 2019 over 25,000 hours were given by individual and corporate volunteers to NextSense (then as RIDBC).

From NextSense Director, People & Culture, Kylie Pearson:

'To the NextSense volunteers who have stood by us over the last year—thank you! I’m pleased we’ve been able to welcome you back to our centres—we’re so thankful for the dedication and commitment you provide every day.'

And as a national organisation with an extensive network of centres, we’re always on the lookout for excellent people willing to lend a hand.