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Volunteer

Be a part of someone's journey

Business and community support is essential for refugees and asylum seekers making a fresh start and aspiring to become financially independent. So we're always on the lookout for talented refugee assistance volunteers to mentor emerging entrepreneurs and provide them with practical business guidance. Could you help us transform lives?

Already a refugee assistance volunteer?

Business Volunteers

Business volunteers are essential in preparing our applicants at the pre-loan stage for success. Their assistance with the preparation of business plans and cash flow projections is crucial to helping us understand our clients' business goals.

You will help by:

  • Developing business and marketing plans.
  • Developing cash flow projections.
  • Assisting in explaining general business requirements in Australia.
Time spent:

2-3 hours over a few weeks.

Become a Volunteer
Mentor Volunteers

Thrive Mentors help our new refugee and asylum seeker business owners to overcome challenges and achieve goals. You'll serve as refugee volunteers and be a positive sounding board for business owners, increasing the likelihood of success and financial independence for refugee entrepreneurs.

You will help by:

  • Meeting with your mentee once a month to provide practical guidance and support.
  • Being a compassionate listener while encouraging ideas and action.
  • Providing regular updates to Thrive to help set and achieve business goals.

Who we’re looking for:

Business professionals with local experience in any of the below areas:

  • business management or operations;
  • sales and marketing, or
  • finance and accounting.

This is a unique structured volunteer program for business professionals to match your existing skills with your passion for supporting refugees and asylum seekers.

In 2018, Thrive’s dedicated mentor volunteers supported 67 refugee entrepreneurs to start and grow their business in NSW and Victoria.

Here’s how you can become a Thrive Mentor:

1. Submit your application

  • Tell us about yourself along with any skills and experience you can bring to Thrive Refugee Enterprise by completing an online application at tre.org.au/volunteer/#mentor

2. Get on board

  • After we review your application, we’ll invite you to a 2-hour welcome and training session so you'll know exactly what to expect from this role

3. Complete some checks

  • If you are successful in becoming a volunteer with us, we will ask you to complete a Police Check.

4. Get started!

  • We’ll match you with a refugee or asylum seeker entrepreneur and you can start your mentoring journey with Thrive!

Click here to download the Thrive Mentor Position Description.

Click here for more details
Time spent:

1-3 hours per month for 12 months.

Become a Volunteer
Office Volunteers

Our office volunteers work on projects and administrative activities, allowing us to increase our productivity and assist more refugees.

You will help by:

  • Providing administrative support.
  • Providing support in client and database management in the office.
  • Working on Thrive’s special projects.
  • Assisting in credit management, marketing, volunteer management, sales and more.
Time spent:

In office as agreed on by Thrive.

Become a Volunteer
Become a mentor

Volunteer-based mentoring and practical business guidance greatly increase the likelihood of success and financial independence for refugee entrepreneurs. Simply put, you can make a meaningful difference.

Why?

Helping to positively impact the lives of people who have lost or have had to leave everything behind is more than an act of unselfishness. It's a genuine opportunity to contribute to their wellbeing, your local community and Australian society as a whole.

By empowering and enabling refugee entrepreneurs to fulfil their ambitions and become financially self-sufficient, you're contributing alongside them to the growth of the Australian economy.

Who can volunteer?

Basically, anyone with business experience or any qualification can volunteer. Particularly, skills we are seeking: Small business – Accounting – Business planning – Marketing – Social media – Website development – Licensing and registration – Retail sales management - Merchandising – Human resources.

Mentor
Volunteers
Bernie Walker

I have been helping Thrive for six months, once a week and mainly assisting applicants to prepare their business plans and cash flow statements. It's a great experience to help refugees during this phase of their journey in Australia. I love to see them step up and start their own business. They are not just achieving success for their futures but contributing to the community and providing employment for other individuals. Based on my experience, I would highly recommend this program to other refugee volunteers. It's a privilege to integrate skills and knowledge that we have to help others, and it's a lot of fun.

Nadia Cammarata

It has been a true privilege and honour to assist one of Thrive's applicants, Behnaz, on the journey to establish her own business. Working with Behnaz was a fantastic experience. We met on a number of occasions to discuss the details of her new venture, and the information I gathered allowed me to help her obtain the micro loan and pursue her business aspirations. This was also an occasion for me to learn more about her, her personal journey and her passion for her work. As a refugee volunteer, I have completed a business plan tailored to Behnaz's business needs and area of expertise, which summarises operational and financial objectives as well as strategies to achieve them. The plan also includes financial projections which detail the forecasted performance (one to three years), and illustrates how financing will affect the business's position. Volunteering for Thrive has been an absolutely enriching and fulfilling experience for me. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wishes to help others and give back to the community. By devoting your time and skills to this noble cause, you can truly make a difference and change a refugee's life and people, just like Behnaz will change yours.

Interested?

We're interested in having you on board.
Simply fill in and submit the form below, or for more information email us at info@tre.org.au

Are you willing to undertake the necessary background checks for this opportunity?

YesNo

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Make a donation

As a not-for-profit organisation with no government funding, Thrive is only able to help refugees and asylum seekers succeed and thrive through the generous support and contributions of our strategic partners, refugee volunteers and private donors.

Your financial support can create lasting, positive change by helping them get on their feet, become financially stable and start businesses that contribute to both the Australian economy and our communities.

If you would like to get a receipt, please email your donation details to info@tre.org.au, making sure to include your name, address, bank, the amount donated and the deposit reference.

All donations over $2 are tax-deductible, and greatly appreciated.

Our major donors
Berg Family Foundation
Cameron Foundation
The Curtis Foundation
Key Foundation
Luminis Foundation
Trawalla Foundation
Trevor Lowenshon
Truong Family
Ilse O’Reilly
The Gonski Foundation
Crescent Foundation
Scanlon Foundation
Sue and Sam Foundation
Morris Family Foundation
The Sky Foundation
Key partners

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