What is volunteering?
Volunteering is an activity that involves willingly spending time to help benefit a person, people, environment or community. More than 1.5 million Victorians volunteer their time, skills and experience, and in one way or another make a huge contribution to our local communities.
Why Volunteer?
Volunteering is a great way for people, regardless of their age, cultural background, location or circumstances, to get involved in the community and make a positive contribution. In addition to the satisfaction of helping out for the benefit of others, there are many reasons people volunteer such as:
- connecting with others and improving social ties
- positively engaging and being active within the community
- experiencing new challenges
- raising awareness and supporting important community issues
- interacting with different cultures
- contributing to social change
- developing professional networks
- finding a pathway to getting a job, course or training
- developing new skills or gaining experience in a variety of roles
- exploring different career and job opportunities.
Research has also found a significant connection between volunteering and good health, showing that volunteering can (Vic Health, 2012):
- alleviate depression
- increase satisfaction with life
- lower the frequency of hospitalisation
- boost a person’s ability to cope with illness.
How do you find out more?
Volunteering Victoria is the state peak body for volunteering, with a focus on advocacy, sector development and the promotion of volunteering in Victoria. It also contains the volunteering portal where you can find opportunities to volunteer.
