Ashleigh Small is the co-founder and CEO at Hello Initiative, a not-for-profit start-up that seeks to improve the social and judicial outcomes for young people involved in the WA criminal justice system. Hello Initiative is driving innovative interventions in the youth justice sector to improve outcomes for young people, their families and the WA community. Examples of their current projects include the Mobile Support Project to address digital inequities in vulnerable communities, and the Court Breakfast Program to deliver food relief to families engaged in the justice system. Ashleigh holds a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Social Work from UWA.
Ashleigh has been recognised locally and nationally for her work in youth innovation and social justice, and was a finalist in the 2021 Young Australian of the Year WA Awards. In addition to her volunteer role at Hello Initiative, Ashleigh is the Innovation Officer at East Metropolitan Health Service.
Volunteering as a major part of life
I started my volunteering journey in the first year of my undergraduate studies with Teach Learn Grow and, really, I’ve been hooked since then. I ended up volunteering with that organisation in lots of different roles all the way up until I founded my own organisation, off the back of my experience on a student placement with my Master of Social Work. Volunteering is important to me because it aligns with my values – I can’t imagine a lifestyle now where I don’t continue to volunteer in some way.
Volunteer work offers so much
I find volunteer work to be deeply satisfying. It gives me a clear sense of purpose, and I really enjoy the camaraderie of working with passionate individuals who want to see change that will make a difference in people’s lives. I enjoy learning more about different social challenges and niches, and what work is being done in the community to solve these problems. Additionally, volunteering gives you an opportunity to learn and practice skills that you might not otherwise get exposed to in your studies or in the workforce. I am especially passionate about work that involves young people and working with organisations that have really robust sustainability and environmental models in place.
Adding value to your career
Volunteering gives you the opportunity to learn and try new things that might be beyond the scope of your studies or your career, and the great thing about volunteering is that because organisations are usually looking for hands-on deck, your attitude is usually much more important than your skills or experience when it comes to holding a volunteer role. Volunteering has since let me broaden my skill set – I’m a social worker by training but by volunteering I am also a project manager, a risk mitigator, an executive, a web designer, a HR manager, a caterer and the list goes on.
Something to always look back fondly on
While I am so passionate about my work now with Hello Initiative, I do think that nothing has ever compared to the Rural Programs I undertook with Teach Learn Grow while I was a student. There’s nothing like heading out into the red dirt to work 1-1 with the kids for a week. I have one particularly fond memory of going out for dinner with the teachers and local shire members on one trip, and having the shire president whip out the ‘keys to the city' and give us a behind-the-scenes tour of all the heritage-listed buildings in town after the dinner. It’s so great to connect with communities on that intimate level and get to know the local leaders that are making change on the ground.