Volunteering

Every year, over 2 million Victorians share their time, skills and experience to make a huge contribution to our local communities.

Whether you are working, newly retired or semi-retired, volunteering can be a rewarding, exciting and fun experience. Volunteering is also a great way to stay active and build new connections and friendships.

Why volunteer?

Volunteering is an opportunity to help out in the community, meet new people, learn new things, and explore new interests.

There are many reasons people volunteer such as:

• connecting with other people
• being active in the community
• experiencing new challenges
• raising awareness and supporting important community causes
• learning about different cultures
• contributing to social change
• finding pathways to a job, study or training
• developing new skills or getting experience in different roles to improve your CV.

How you can help

There’s no such thing as a typical volunteer. Everyone has something to offer and there are roles to suit different interests and goals.

There are so many ways to volunteer these days – in person, online, for a day or a few hours, the options are endless. Start your search by thinking about:

• what you enjoy doing
• what skills or interests you would like to share
• how much time you would like to contribute e.g. would you like to volunteer regularly or from time to time
• where you would like to volunteer – close to home or virtually/online.

Formal volunteering is usually organised through not-for-profit community organisations. For these roles, applying for a volunteering position is a bit like applying for a job.

Volunteering organisations often have a recruitment process to help them find suitable volunteers. Try to find out as much as you can about the volunteering organisation and the kind of work involved so you know if it's something you want to do.

Organisations may require a police check, or working with children check for adults. You may need to do an interview or a training course for some volunteer roles.

Search for volunteer opportunities

There are many ways to find a community organisation and a volunteering role that’s right for you. Here are some websites to search for or browse volunteering opportunities: ·

• the Volunteering Victoria website lets you browse volunteering opportunities available in Victoria
• the GoVolunteer website is a national database of volunteering opportunities

Many local councils also engage volunteers to assist the local community. Find your local council using the Know Your Council website.

Be inspired

Many senior Victorians make a difference in their community. They could be a leader who inspires others, a behind-the-scenes organiser, or a person who does the hands-on work to deliver services.

Read volunteer stories

Volunteering Victoria showcase inspiring stories of volunteers pursuing their goals on their website. Read stories about everyday Victorians making a difference on the volunteer.vic.gov.au website.

Victorian Senior of the Year Awards

These awards recognise older Victorians who contribute to their community through volunteering. Find out more about the achievements of older Victorians.

More information

For more information, visit the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing volunteering website – volunteer.vic.gov.au.

Volunteering Victoria is the state peak body for volunteering, with a focus on advocacy, sector development and the promotion of volunteering in Victoria. You can also search for volunteer roles in your local area.