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1. About Inclusee Interests2Enjoy - Inclusee

1. About Inclusee Interests2Enjoy

What is Interests2Enjoy?

The Inclusee Interests2Enjoy program encourages participants to discover new interests and revisit favourite activities in a community environment, as well as come together for special events. They are online clubs, which consists of gatherings of small groups of likeminded people that meet on a weekly basis and are facilitated by a friendly volunteer (you!). These clubs invite people to join in and have a goal of increasing inclusiveness and connection in our community.

The facilitator assists with keeping the group focused, to ensure everyone gets a chance to be heard, encourages people to join in and may also help organise online activities if requested by the group.

Clubs are scheduled on the same day each week and can run for up to 2 hours, with breaks, which we’ll cover in more detail later in the training. As more people join in, more clubs will be formed, including having multiple clubs of the same interests running throughout the week. The  clubs are based on the interests or demographics of participants, so, we are always interested in receiving any suggestions or ideas to form new clubs. Our clubs currently include interests such as: In2Bingo, In2Travel and In2Trivia. We’re still growing this space and we hope to begin other programs, such as: In2Books, In2Crafting, In2Culture and a lot more.

WHO CAN JOIN INTERESTS2ENJOY
Who can Join?

Our Interests2Enjoy program is funded for seniors in Queensland and New South Wales and are aimed at anyone who is interested in making social connections with groups anchored in a shared interest. Our program is funded through a variety of government funding sources, so some eligibility conditions do apply.  However, if someone doesn’t meet our funding criteria, we will always be happy to refer them to a similar service in their area.

In addition to our program participants we also encourage our volunteers to join, volunteers can come on their own or they can make it a social occasion with their participant. When a Connec2One or Learn2Tech volunteer and a participant both attend a club it provides a great opportunity to strengthen their social bond, and it also gives them common ground and shared experience to talk about

How to join

Some participants join our clubs using their own devices, others join using a loan device provided by Inclusee, for the purpose of participating in the club activities. Either way, an Inclusee IT support person will have set up their device or provided them with a unique link to access the club or clubs they are a part of.

THE ROLE OF THE INTERESTS2ENJOY FACILITATOR
Role Description

The role of an Interests2Enjoy facilitator is to:

  • help everyone join in with the group sessions
  • come up with weekly topics (these topics of discussion can be drawn from the participants),
  • take attendance for the club and record appropriately,
  • report back to the ESO of Interests2Enjoy,
  • encourage conversation and friendship between the participants
  • to be committed to your time facilitating
  • Inform your ESO if you make any referrals to another service (e.g. Lifeline or OPAN)

BOUNDARIES

With the nature of some of our clubs and discussions, it is important to know what is outside the scope of your role as a facilitator and where to go for extra resources if you do need them.

Outside of the Role

Facilitators are not authorised to provide advice, even if you are qualified in that field, so for example, even if you are a trained lawyer, doctor, or counsellor, during your volunteer hours with Inclusee you are not performing in that capacity so you’re not permitted to provide advice, but instead should refer the participant to relevant services, such as their GP, My Aged Care or legal aid.

Referring for services

Resources to refer participants to will be made available to you on the Inclusee Training website and if you are ever unsure, please contact your ESO for further advice or support if you’re stuck on what next steps to take to assist someone in finding the right resources or service. With that being said, the very meaning of our groups is connection, so general advice between participants is allowed, however, we do ask that you intervene if it does cross a boundary (for example, people giving each other medical advice).

How does a digital program work?

It’s also worth noting that our Interests2Enjoy program is a digital program only. This means you cannot facilitate a club session in person, host a session from a participant’s home. You also cannot provide other services to participants, such as; shopping, transport, gardening, maintenance or personal care. We also ask that you refrain from connecting with any participants on social media.