Imagine Re-Evolution – The Stories of Our Volunteers
Emily’s* Story: ‘What I Didn’t Expect to Find’
The Dream
I think most of us dream of making a difference in some way. Being part of something or leaving a change that touches the lives of every-day people and resonates in a way as real and uncorrupted as only we could hope for. When I came across a volunteer job posting for Imagine Re-Evolution, I did not know what I would find. In fact, I didn’t even know what I was looking for, just that I was combing the sites of Go Volunteer, Seek Volunteer and Volunteering Australia for something. A call to action I could join, an opportunity to make that difference.
A Good Feeling
Meeting Jayne for the first time, I had a good feeling. Sometimes that’s all you need. Here was this person, warm and genuine, unequivocally passionate about creating a space for young people to exist and connect without condition or expectation. No frills. The mission, the people, the Imaginarium: it wasn’t fancy, but it didn’t need to be - it rang true.
I thought to myself and I can only hope I made some sense as I conveyed it aloud to Jayne in that moment of our first meeting:
‘I want to be part of the difference you’re making here.’
I joined the team and Jayne and I had an open discussion about tailoring the volunteering to fit my needs, hopes and availability. It was my first time meeting this person and I marvelled at how already, it all just felt so comfortable and so natural. I felt comfortable. To feel at ease in that situation, going into a new organisation, meeting a new person, not fully confident about what I had to offer, all I can say is that it meant a great deal.
The Impact of The Re-Evolution
Even with this strong lasting impression, by no means did I expect all the ways Imagine would make a difference in my life.
I had wanted to join a grassroots organisation to be surrounded by like-minded people and to generate positive change that I could absorb into my heart, into my perception of the world. I wanted to change the narrative of change-making and fulfil the aims I saw waiting.
I had been taught better than to think I was too small to make a difference. However, I felt I was failing. Linking arms with other everyday individuals, while still a small-scale difference, it felt like a difference with direction. From feeling like I was yelling into the wind, I felt buoyed. I guess that is what they call hope.
Something Unexpected
The hope is what sticks with me the most. The hope and the people. I’ve upskilled and I’ve grown, but the hope and the people, that’s the real thing right there.
It’s what I didn’t expect to find. Surrounded by amazing people, amazing every-day people. Talented, creative, savvy, compassionate people. It’s heartening to be surrounded by and be one of this team. I’ve seen the strength and resilience that comes with us linking arms and been involved firsthand in the lift and traction it creates for moving forward. Working for this common goal, chipping in with the time, perspective and experience we uniquely have to offer – the combination becomes the successful results we search for. The process though, the conversations, exchanged messages, in-jokes and shared commitment, it forges something I feel very privileged to experience.
The Story Continues
Greatly humbled with the receiving a contribution award in the honour of Imagine’s own Jill Pope. It gave me cause to wonder if these feelings for Imagine, if they had been the same shared by her too. I have a feeling they are - I believe them to part of what unites all of us at Imagine. Having never have met this wonderful woman, Jill Pope, but feeling her legacy, I feel connected to her in thinking she’d be proud of the people, the impact and the feeling of what the organisation continues to be in her memory.
Looking to the future, I am fulfilled by the thought of what is to come with my time at Imagine Re-Evolution. More chapters awaiting in my volunteering journey as they evolve and I do too, I find comfort in the values I can always count on to remain unfaltering and true to heart.
*Name changed to maintain privacy
