A community project to convert the music of the Glenelg Brass Band to digital format has led to a volunteer receiving an award and unemployed people finding meaningful work.
Bob Owen, who has volunteered at the Glenelg North Community Centre for 17 years, realised the brass band’s historic music library could be preserved indefinitely if it was converted and stored in digital format.
The task was too great for a few volunteers so Bob initiated a project under the Work for the Dole Program and found a group of people to assist with the project, who could learn new skills at the same time.
Bob set up the program to replicate office conditions with the intention of providing participants with real world experience.
“The priority of the people in this program is to find meaningful paid work,” he said.
Participants work in clerical roles sorting, scanning, cataloguing and undertaking assurance checks to accurately transfer the band’s music library into digital form for storage.
“We provide them with counselling and ideas about how to go about finding work,” Bob said.
“We want to help them put effort and energy into finding employment, rather than just complying with what they need to do to continue to receive their benefits.”
Bob mentors participants, targeting things such as job applications, interview techniques and work practices – and over the last year 15 people have found paid employment.
For his efforts, Bob received a Community Recognition Award from the City of Holdfast Bay.
