Volunteering North Queensland’s final hope in face of end of year closure

There is still hope that Volunteering North Queensland (VNQ) could be brought back from the brink of closure as community members rally to stop the not-for-profit from folding.

There is still hope that Volunteering North Queensland (VNQ) could be brought back from the brink of closure as community members rally to stop the not-for-profit from folding.

VNQ president Emily Sehu announced last month that they would be closing down after more than 30 years of being the lifeblood of volunteering in North Queensland.

The Townsville-based not-for-profit’s important work has included connecting thousands of volunteers with other not-for-profit organisations who need help and providing vital training.

Volunteering North Queensland Vice President/Secretary Trayeden Fulmer and President Emily Sehu. Picture: Shae Beplate.

Ms Sehu said the decision to fold at the end of the year — which was attributed mainly to a lack of funding — might not be final anymore after they recently received an outpouring of community support.

“Since the news broke about our closure, we’ve just had so many emails and phone calls from people in the Townsville community asking about how they can help,” she said.

“At our recent AGM, we elected some new committee members, which means we have some new blood in our ranks to see how we might do things differently and think outside of the box to stay afloat.”

She said the committee now had an eight-week window to find an affordable new location and secure some operational funding.

“We’re by no means out of the woods yet, but the closure of VNQ will be a huge blow to the community, so we’ve got to give this a red hot crack,” Ms Sehu said.

Townsville councillor and VNQ member Margie Ryder said they had recently gained some traction on some grant opportunities and have received some offers and opportunities for discounted rents.

“We still need to keep pushing to the federal and state governments to give us operational funding,” she said. 

Originally published as Volunteering North Queensland’s final hope in face of end of year closure