Michelle Lindley is a very active volunteer in the sport, recreation and fitness industry, combining volunteering with her full time role as the Community Partnerships Co-ordinator for the Police Citizens Youth Club. With a lifetime (a few decades) of volunteering behind her, Michelle has seen and done plenty as a volunteer.

Like many volunteers, Michelle helps a range of organisations, spreading her efforts across PCYC QLD, the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme,

the Brisbane Outrigger Canoe Club and the Brisbane International Tennis event. She has volunteered in roles requiring ongoing weekly commitment, but now enjoys participating primarily at events, giving up about 6 weeks a year of her time. Luckily for Michelle, her employer is very supportive providing flexible leave and work times for volunteer commitments and providing encouragement for her to volunteer at internal PCYC events.

Bring a volunteer requires a wide range of skills and Michelle has identified communication, leadership, event management and the ability to give
and take direction as among the most important. The ability to motivate, as well as being prepared to undertake a wide range of tasks, often at

the same time, also helps keep her coming back for more. 

Volunteering gives her “a sense of helping out the community and it also allows me the chance to be a part of these events in a more exciting way than just as an attendee” Michelle says, “

I have always been in organisations that rely on volunteers, so I feel happy to give some back for the efforts I take from other Volunteers”.

Michelle has also found volunteering invaluable to her paid work, gaining skills in planning and project management, people management and communication, as well as broadening her industry knowledge. Working at events also provides an ‘adrenalin hit’ which helps mentally!

While not all volunteering experiences are necessarily good, with Michelle listing the job of cleaning toilets at a major sporting event as among the worst she’s done, there are upsides. Her best volunteer role was taking a group of young people from Japan to Heron Island. “They needed an Aussie Chaperone on a Scuba Diving trip and I just happened to be the only person with the Scuba ticket so I got to go!” she said.

Volunteers like Michelle bring much to our organisations but also gain a lot from interacting with others and learning new skills. Thanks Michelle!