Celebrating National Volunteer Week: joining hands and connecting technology for community impact

Suncorp employee Mr Syed Asghar Naqvi wears two hats with equal enthusiasm and dedication: a technology hat as a Suncorp Principal Technical Lead within the Data Engineering Practice and a community hat as a volunteer President of the Pakistan Australian Cultural Association Inc (PACA). 

PACA is a not-for-profit organisation with hundreds of volunteers who provide advisory support, raise funds to support ill patients, provide housing assistance, host social events, and advocate for the community. Under Mr Naqvi’s leadership, PACA has evolved to support not just the Pakistani community but all other CALD (Culturally and Linguistically Diverse) and local communities, too. 

A global pandemic coupled with natural disasters have challenged many Queensland regions in recent years; however, PACA has supported the community during COVID lockdowns, the 2022 Brisbane floods, and most recently during ex-TC Alfred. Their volunteer efforts during COVID were featured on ABC and SBS, and Mr Naqvi was recognised in the 2024 Australia Day Awards for his commitment to promoting cultural harmony. 

During ex-TC Alfred, PACA organised food drives serving more than 2,500 hot meals, and connecting volunteers with those in need. In a shining example of how passion and skills can work together for a bigger impact, it was a technology platform designed overnight by Mr Naqvi himself that was key to the volunteering success.

Scaling up volunteer support as a cyclone brings flooding rains to the community  

Mr Naqvi and his PACA team were inundated with community requests for support during Alfred, such as callouts from vulnerable people for medicine. They needed a scalable online solution to assign volunteers to those in need.  

Mr Naqvi had a unique opportunity to lean on his technical expertise, and utilise his innovative outlook, to build a bespoke volunteer management system to support the local community.

“In the days before Alfred made landfall, we delivered many sandbags to properties across Brisbane, Gold Coast and Logan areas. The rain had started, and many people had never experienced a cyclone; they were not prepared and needed support, particularly the vulnerable people,” Mr Naqvi said. 

“We were making deliveries to those in need and organising food drives. But it was becoming more difficult and time-consuming to manage resources and volunteers. I knew I needed a technical solution. 

Faced with limited time and no funds for purchasing software, Mr Naqvi relied on his technical and solution architecture skills, creativity, and drive. 

Using Google platforms like Forms and Sheets, API integration (a skill Mr Naqvi refined during his Suncorp tenure) to automate volunteer database updates with Geo Mapping and Gen AI, he developed a scalable resource management database. It connected volunteers with people in need; when a community request came in, the team was able to easily and visually match with an available volunteer on a timely basis.  

“We registered more than 100 volunteers through the platform, enabling them to help hundreds of families by delivering sandbags, medicines, groceries, charging devices and helping with food drives,” he said.  

“Some of these families have already gone through very difficult times; everything is going wrong in their lives. It is more than just giving food; you are giving a package of love and care. It is a small thing, but it makes a huge difference.”  

Empathy and a passion for helping others since childhood  

Mr Naqvi explained that volunteering had been an important part of his life since childhood and was a passion he brought with him when he moved to Australia in 2003.  

“I started volunteering and fundraising for a cancer hospital when I was in fifth grade; that was the start of my journey.

“I grew up in a family that was always helping others too. My mother runs a school for underprivileged kids.

Suncorp provides a supportive workplace that encourages giving back to the community  

Mr Naqvi credits Suncorp’s flexible and innovation-led culture for enabling him to lead and support the community through volunteering.  

"I think flexibility is one of the most important things. It’s allowed me time to dedicate to my community organisation, and for that I’m very grateful.  

“Leading a team at Suncorp has helped me learn how to effectively lead teams, enabling me to make a bigger impact. Development initiatives like Suncorp’s Innovation Academy have also encouraged my creativity.” 

Sharing the technology will benefit other community organisations  

The integrated volunteer management database has many uses outside of assigning support during natural disasters, and Mr Naqvi and his PACA team are planning to share the technology with other not-for-profits, who, with limited resources, can greatly benefit.  

In the meantime, Mr Naqvi shared some powerful words of advice: “When life gives you problematic lemons, make a little solution lemonade.”