People who manage or volunteer at community centres are a special kind of human…
You could say, they're super-humans. Their super power? Multiplying the little time and resources they have and turning them into programmes, activities and all-round support for their communities. Jacquie Happ is one of these super-humans. Besides being the Cultural Development Officer for the City of Busselton in WA, she chairs the Dunsborough and Districts Progress Association and helps manage the family's honey and pottery businesses.
The most super part of these super-humans is their heart for the people in their community. "I love being a part of the community where you see the smiles of children, and young or old people, enjoying what it is that has been created or put on," says Jacquie. "The effort is definitely worthwhile when you see people connecting. It brings a smile to my own face and feelings!"
But these super-humans aren't….superhuman. They're all people in the end with a limited amount of physical, mental and emotional energy. So what happens when 'giving back' actually takes away from one's personal and professional life? In Jacquie's case, more demand for the Dunsborough and Districts hall combined with the increase in ways to book the space made for a challenging and often mentally draining job. Not only was the threat of double booking high, but the risk of letting people down weighed heavily on Jacquie.
Jacquie Happ, awarded Australia Day WA Community Citizen of the Year Award for Dunsborough
A Christmas function put on by the Dunsborough and Districts Progress Association
A gardening day at the Dunsborough Hall
At SpacetoCo, we offer the gift of time by freeing up unnecessary inefficiencies from manual bookings, and Jacquie took up the offer. "…not having to answer emails, texts or messages on Facebook and take phone calls has been very freeing." Jacquie says, "I think this (software) is wonderful for managing community spaces and I definitely would recommend it to anyone who wants less stress and more personal time in their day!"
And what does she do with these extra hours? "I’m spending more time on other community projects… whoops!" confesses Jacquie. But more importantly, it's given her time to fill up her own personal cup. "Maybe I water the plants more regularly or ride my bike to work!" she says.
It's important that we look after those who look after us. In the end, the people who serve our communities usually don't do it for personal gain or fame - they do it for love. "I like to think that giving gives back," says Jacquie. "If you give your time or of yourself, you will always receive more back... and maybe not the way you think!" We're happy to partner with Jacquie and other amazing hosts to give them a little more time, whether they give it back to their communities or receive it for their own self-care.
A massive thank you to Jacquie for sharing her story! Want to hear more from her? She spoke at our Community Venue Learning Series in October 2022 - check out the snippets of her wonderful insights about community building and Aaiotanga Peace Place, and click the button below to watch the full session!
Do you know that SpacetoCo is the best booking software for community venues?
SpacetoCo helps venues take bookings online, ditch repetitive admin and grow bookings and revenue!
Community venues who join us are seeing 10-30% growth in income and getting hours of time back to focus on the work they want to do - instead of back & forth emails & chasing invoices....
Do you work or volunteer for a local community venue? We've got heaps of free training...
Our Why
Sustainability
We believe that there are plenty of spaces and it’s not always necessary to build more. By utilising existing assets more efficiently and by making it easier to book spaces online, we all play a part in a more sustainable future.
Local Economies
We believe in the importance of driving growth to local area economies. By providing a means for people to access local spaces, we hope to stimulate a buzz of activity within towns, precincts & localities . We believe that when local economies thrive, communities come to life.
Community Connection
We believe space activation plays an important role in community development and building connectedness between people.It is through this that we work towards building a supportive, inclusive and diverse society.