Australian Natural Health Magazine

Louise Collins discovers why six million people in Australia volunteer their skills and knowledge to those less fortunate.

Volunteering is thriving in our communities with over six million Australians sharing their skills and experience every year. Six million people can’t be wrong.

So much to gain!

There’s much to be gained from volunteering; as well as being an exercise in altruism and a way to ‘give back’ to the community, it can be a smart way to secure work experience and a pathway to paid employment. And don’t be mistaken for thinking that volunteering is all about soup kitchens. Volunteers can contribute in many areas of society including community welfare, heritage and arts, environmental conservation, emergency services, education, social justice and sports. There are also thousands of adventurous and committed people who volunteer internationally every year in diverse and challenging roles. From agricultural projects to health and education programs, the assistance international volunteers contribute can be life changing for people in developing countries.

With Australians contributing over seven hundred million hours of community service each year, the economic impact of volunteering is staggering. Maureen Cane, CEO, Volunteering Australia says, “We know that volunteering has always enjoyed a robust tradition in Australia, but recently a University of Adelaide study demonstrated the full extent of its monetary value – volunteering is now worth more than two hundred billion dollars a year. This means that volunteering’s economic contribution to the Australian community surpasses revenue sources from mining, agriculture and the retail sectors.”

This places volunteering as an indispensable link in the fabric of society, and indicates the crucial role volunteers play in contributing to the health and wellbeing of our communities.

“Communities benefit from volunteer service because volunteers assist individuals, families and the community, generally to address local needs and problems. By providing their time and resources to organisations, volunteers help deliver services, products and opportunities that otherwise might have been provided at a higher cost to the recipient, or not provided at all.”

Ever wanted to run your own small business? When Jane Latella noticed how tough some people in her community were finding it, to keep up with household expenses, she decided to set up shop. Urban Food Care in Western Sydney assists economically disadvantaged individuals and families every week by providing groceries, fresh fruit and vegetables, and dairy and meat products for a minimal service contribution fee. The community shop is run by a team of volunteers, who provide morning tea and a safe place for children to play while the shopping is done.

“This is more than giving away food; it has become a place to make friends and connect as a community,” Jane says. Her team from Urban Food Care see the enterprise as more than a short-term fix for those who are struggling. “It’s making a difference in the lives of others. It’s more about connecting with people than providing food, building genuine relationships with and listening to their struggles and providing keys to budgeting and making life work better.”

Taking on something like Urban Food Care requires a huge time commitment, but even if you can spare just a couple of hours a fortnight, the benefits to you and your community are great. From window dressing the local charity shop to social media marketing for a not-for-profit organisation, the opportunities are endless, the competencies gained are transferable to current and future paid work and your time spent valued and appreciated. Jane runs off a list of skills that she’s acquired since setting up Urban Food Care: “Recruiting, training and building relationships with teams of volunteers. Ordering, delivery, pickup, packing shelves, sorting, hospitality. Liaising with local service providers, grant writing, fundraising and marketing.”

International relations
Ever wanted to live and work in another country? Michelle Taylor spent 18 months living and working in the Solomon Islands for the Solomon Islands Development Trust (SIDT) in Honiara, as a management adviser. Michelle’s role as an international volunteer was as unexpected as it was life changing.

“The timing was right for me – I was at a crossroads in my career and my personal life and quite bored and still not sure what I wanted to do next – I wanted another adventure in my life and to live overseas again. I’d not seriously considered volunteering overseas because I thought it was for people with technical skills – nurses, teachers, builders etc. I had a lot of business skills and didn’t realise they might be valuable until I found an Australian Volunteers International (AVI) pamphlet and checked them out on the internet. When I saw the position for the management adviser for SIDT, the requirements were so aligned with my experience that I immediately started to think of it as ‘my’ job.”

Michelle’s experience as an international volunteer continues to impact her life in a positive way. “So much of what I gained is still coming out in my life – nearly four years later. As a volunteer adviser, I had the opportunity to apply all sorts of professional skills and techniques in a new way. I gained a great understanding of how to impart knowledge in a very practical way, both from my role as mentor and coach for SIDT and also through watching them work in the villages.

As a volunteer, you are often required to do things you wouldn’t normally do in your job – I'm a business woman who had mostly been involved in finance before, but I covered the gamut of business skills – human resources systems, IT, grant writing, developing and delivering workshops, governance, conflict resolution, disaster preparedness, even drama and music! On a personal level I was deeply immersed in a very family-based culture, where human connections are the foundation of coping with a very harsh and scary environment – caring and understanding and accepting people for who they are. I learned patience and flexibility and acceptance and how to repair a photocopier. I learned a great deal about the impact of poverty and lack of opportunities on a society. My Solomon Islander friends also taught me how to ‘lighten up’, to go with the flow and to laugh a lot more than I had been accustomed to. In the end, I was able to translate all of that into my dream job in Australia – a real gain for me as I now know what I want to be when I grow up!”

Give and you shall receive
Volunteering internationally requires more than just professional skills and experience. The ability to build strong relationships and adapt to living in a new culture is vital for the work you’re doing and to you personally. Michelle offers some sound advice: “Make friends, teach a skill in a social setting – I ended up doing yoga classes for the women of SIDT and it was hilarious and wonderful – expect to break down and think you can’t cope after about three months and expect to get through that. Relax, enjoy and open yourself to change; you will grow in ways you never thought possible.”

Volunteering has a social and economic value essential to society and for many people working as a volunteer can be a life changing and career altering experience.Cane says, “Volunteer service offers individuals the opportunity to obtain or enhance job-related skills and experience that may assist them in obtaining paid employment. Volunteering offers insights into the type of work available across the labour market and into the qualifications, expertise and attributes required for particular positions. Volunteering offers new entrants or those returning to the workforce opportunities to gain confidence, to perform tasks to a standard and to test their communication and interpersonal skills in the workplace organisation and team environment.”

When it comes to giving – whether it’s your time, money, possessions or your shoulder to cry on – you always, ALWAYS, get something in return. Without getting all Oprah about it, giving really is its own reward. It can provide a new path to travel career-wise, add meaning and purpose to your life and make you feel connected with your community, qualities guaranteed to make us feel better about ourselves and the world we live in. 

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