Have you ever considered volunteering to help disadvantaged children? Not sure if you have the time required? Many of us would like to help, but are simply not aware of what alternatives are out there or how we could get involved.
There are many organisations in Australia that provide support and care for children in need. One of the key challenges they face is building community awareness about their programs and attracting enough volunteers to assist in providing these important services.
To investigate this issue, an extensive, nation-‐wide study conducted by the University of Wollongong in partnership with foster care provider CareSouth examined levels of awareness and attitudes towards children’s welfare services. According to Dr Melanie Randle from the Institute for Innovation in Business and Social Research (IIBSoR) at the Faculty of Commerce, effective marketing campaigns can be used to increase awareness and encourage people to volunteer their time.
One of the services the study focussed on was the Aunties & Uncles program – which gives children from disadvantaged backgrounds the chance to experience life with another family for one weekend every month. The volunteer Aunties and Uncles act as mentors and friends to the children and the relationship often lasts right through until the child reaches adulthood. Study results found that only 14% of those surveyed had heard of the program, and only half of those people (7%) actually knew what the program was. Importantly, when participants were provided with a brief explanation, almost half of those surveyed indicated they would consider becoming an Aunty or Uncle in future.
“For organisations such as CareSouth that coordinate the Aunties & Uncles program, these are encouraging results. They indicate that the concept of Aunties & Uncles is viewed positively by the community, but to a large extent individuals are unaware of the program’s existence”, says Dr Randle. “In order to attract more volunteer Aunties and Uncles, organisations need to develop information campaigns that specifically target those people most likely to be interested in the role of Aunty or Uncle. Our findings provide guidance as to how this can be achieved in a cost-‐effective way – enabling non-‐profit organisations to make more efficient use of their limited marketing-‐dollars.”
The study showed that younger females working full or part time, who have higher household incomes and have no children of their own are more likely to consider volunteering for the Aunties & Uncles program in future than others in the community. These people also have a good support network of family and friends, as well as greater levels of empathy and life satisfaction.
“Marketing messages specifically targeting these types of people will help in recruiting more volunteer Aunties and Uncles who give disadvantaged children the support they need to develop and grow into confident adults, as well as an opportunity to see how other families relate and function”, says Dr Randle.
CareSouth is launching a targeted Aunties & Uncles campaign at the end of this year, incorporating the findings from the research in a range of media from posters to TV advertisements.
CareSouth is a community non-‐profit organisation, providing support to families, children, young people and people with disabilities. To find out more about the Aunties & Uncles program, to become an Aunty or Uncle, to sponsor a child or to make a donation, please see the CareSouth website on www.caresouth.org.au , or call 1300 554 260. For further information on the UOW Aunties & Uncles research, please contact Dr Melanie Randle on phone 02 4221 4858 or email mrandle@uow.edu.au For further information on the Aunties & Uncles program, please contact Katie Martha on phone 02 4423 6833 or email katie.martha@caresouth.org.au
