Christine

“I’m so proud to lead such an amazing group of people. They inspire me every day and I cannot speak more highly of the Lort Smith volunteers”

Volunteering at Lort Smith

All prospective volunteers are required to be a minimum of 18 years old, attend an information session, have an interview and undergo a police check.

We recruit based on the needs of the organisation. If you are interested in a specific role we are not currently recruiting for, you will need to wait until places become available.

To be alerted via email when we open up our next volunteer intake, please sign up to our Volunteer Registry.

Lort Smith is fortunate to have highly passionate, experienced and knowledgeable people on staff, and Christine is no exception. As our Volunteer Engagement Manager, Christine has worked at Lort Smith for eight years and manages a team of 398 volunteers – almost double the number of staff we employ!

Christine holds qualifications and certifications in change management, process improvement, training and volunteer administration.

The role of Volunteer Engagement Manager is extensive, and keeping the program running like the well-oiled machine it is takes the highest calibre of talent.

I'm so proud to lead such an amazing group of people. They inspire me every day and I cannot speak more highly of the Lort Smith volunteers.

Christine

Christine's key responsibilities include:

the strategic development of the program
recruiting, onboarding and keeping volunteers
continuous improvement of policies and procedures
developing our volunteer management system
volunteer support
reward and recognition
piloting programs
evaluation and reporting.

Christine created Lort Smith's first Volunteer Advisory Committee, to give volunteers a way to be consulted about decisions that affect them.

"I'm so proud to lead such an amazing group of people. They inspire me every day and I cannot speak more highly of the Lort Smith volunteers," says Christine.

Why volunteers matter

Christine says Lort Smith is only able to rehome as many animals as we do because of our volunteers. "They offer invaluable support via foster care, as well as onsite in the cattery and kennels. The shelter animals receive so much TLC and enrichment from the vollies as they prepare for adoption."

"Our volunteers extend our reach and mission to the community. Lort Smith Pet Therapy teams are literally out there providing people, in a variety of facilities throughout Melbourne, with the benefit of the human-animal bond. Additionally, volunteering at Lort Smith gives those without pets at home the opportunity to experience the human-animal bond, which as we all now know, has countless physical and emotional health benefits."

Christine encourages anyone who is in a position to volunteer their time to do so. "Think about your passions and your interests and get involved. Volunteering is good for you! You'll connect with your community in a meaningful way, build relationships and learn new skills."

"Lort Smith was started by two amazing women [Louisa Lort Smith and Lady Frances Lyle] who volunteered their time. It makes me proud that Lort Smith was essentially started by volunteers. Volunteers have been an essential and important part of our history and will continue to be into the future," says Christine.