Our people their stories: Mike McCausland

Making Friends: making change creatively with Mike McCausland

Somehow volunteering has become important in the way things get done in Tasmania.

For just about every valuable social institution – in conservation of the environment, in health care, in preserving and celebrating our past, in forms of entertainment such as dance, theatre and the visual arts, in support for the elderly and disabled and socially disadvantaged, in vital cultural institutions such as libraries, public broadcasting and of course museums – support groups have sprung up. Mike has become increasingly engaged in them.

They mediate between established institutions run by municipal, state or federal governments and ourselves, the public.

They add local colour to the way official services are provided and act as democratic feedback to administrators.

Besides, they offer so much to participants, creating opportunities to contribute in fields that interest them and linking them with colleagues and a range of social circles.

And like life itself, Friends of groups are making it up as they go along. He’s found it’s added immeasurably to his life.