Why volunteer

• Reduce social isolation for people, both volunteers and the recipients of volunteering activities
• Can build community networks and capacity to support people
• Flexible hours tailored to your individual availability
• Gain valuable work experience and expand your CV
• Gain new skills; learn something new
• To learn something about yourself – find out what you really enjoy without changing employment
• To have fun
• Explore career possibilities without entering long and exhaustive study
• To fulfil Centrelink/university/graduation requirements
• You owe it to yourself: generally people who volunteer observe they get back much more than they give through community work
• Great way to meet people with similar interests – many volunteers will attest that people they’ve met through volunteering experiences ultimately become trusted friends for life
• Build general business skills – give you an opportunity to develop interpersonal and time management skills
• Opportunity for networking
• Build better communication skills – two thirds of respondents to a recent survey on volunteering and participating indicated that their volunteering experience helped them develop better communication skills
• Increasing skills: 63% reported an increased knowledge and skills about issues relating to their volunteering
• Health: Volunteering gives people a reason to get out of bed – especially if they are retired or unemployed
• Improve your health, reduce your stress and increase your self esteem
• For the challenge and success
• Gain leadership skills
• Help save money by providing valuable community services so money can be redirected elsewhere
• It’s free