Community service organisations that have had a change or wish to be entered into the guide are asked to phone Young and District Community Hub directly to relay their information on 63826328.

“The Community Guide is a one-stop source of information, community members can use it to quickly and easily identify services they require,” Young and District Community Hub manager Naomi Peters said.

The Young Witness Community Guide is a booklet that is published every year with contact information for local businesses and community services.

Naomi has said that though they have received many calls to ensure the information the Hub has is correct they still need more people to contact them.

“Organisations have been more than happy to take a minute to speak with Hub staff to ensure information in last year’s guide is still correct,” Naomi said.

“Services recognize the amount of interest generated through the guide and know it plays an important part in assisting community members access services.”

Young and District Community Hub has undergone a name change to move with the shifting landscape. 

The Hub’s new name is now the Hilltops Hub.

The Hub is seeking volunteers to join its Many Hands Volunteer Register which allows Hub staff to take details from would-be volunteers and match them with any number of Community Organisations in the Hilltops Shire looking for assistance.

“We currently have 28 organisations on our books looking for volunteers and have in the past helped orchestrate 19 successful placements of volunteers,” Naomi said.

Once volunteers are established and checkups have been carried out over a 3-6 month period volunteers are archived. 

“We also have a further 21 volunteers actively placed at the moment and a further six awaiting a match,” Naomi said. 

Anyone interested in volunteering are asked to stop by or call the Hub and express their interest, after which the coordinator will contact them with a meeting time to perform an assessment. 

“The assessment takes between 20 to 35 minutes and allows the coordinator to glean as much information as possible to assist in a ‘match-up’,” Naomi said. 

Assessed persons will be asked about interests and hobbies, previous work experiences and need to provide identification and two referees. 

“The process is a friendly one and volunteers are very much in charge of what information they share and indicating their preferences for a volunteer placement,” Naomi said.