She was told there was “rivalry” between volunteer organisations in some places across Victoria.
“I was thinking as a community, we need to flip that on its head and think about sharing volunteers,” the volunteer broker said.
The seed of thought has now started to blossom - GV Health has started sharing volunteers with the Lighthouse Project, and other large-scale volunteer-sharing initiatives are in the works.
It brings benefits to both sides. GV Health community engagement volunteer co-ordinator Karen Saccuzzo said the 90 GV Health volunteers were itching to do something with their time after their roles temporarily paused due to COVID-19.
“At the end of March we decided to temporarily cease volunteers, and a very high percentage were in the COVID-19 high risk category,” she said.
She put out the call to local organisations if anyone had work for the GV Health volunteers, and the Lighthouse Project said it needed volunteers for a number of projects.
One such project is Gen Connect, where elderly community members and high school students have regular phone catch-ups.
“While not all of them have taken it up, quite a few have,” Ms Saccuzzo said.
“It's great that there's meaningful work for them.
“But we will welcome our volunteers back as soon as it's safe.”
This initiative is laying the foundation for a larger project in the region, called Find My Crew, which is a collaboration between digital charity Gather My Crew, and Greater Shepparton City Council, Lighthouse Project and Shepparton Villages.
It's an app trial based on the already successful Gather My Crew app - a virtual platform which connects people needing help with their friends and family in times of crisis.
Support can include small tasks, such as putting the bin out, doing shopping, or making a cup of tea.
The Shepparton trial, which has just received Victorian Government funding, will aim to broaden the app's capabilities. It will connect any members of the community wanting to volunteer with organisations or individuals who need assistance.
Ms Smolenaars said the trial could be a "win-win" for everyone.
“People will get their needs met, whether it's the hospital or any other organisation, and volunteers get to connect with the community for however long they want,” she said.
“It's connecting people, it's connecting our town, it's redefining the phrase: ‘it takes a village to raise a child'".
Gather My Crew founder and chief executive Susan Palmer said she was excited to see how Shepparton took to the initiative and that the outcome would be known in six months when the trial finished.