Liam McNally
The number of volunteers in Melbourne’s west is declining according to Volunteer West, and following International Volunteer Day on December 5 they’re encouraging people to see what community organisations could use a hand.
Volunteer West is a division of Australian Multicultural Community Services that acts as a volunteer resource centre.
Volunteer numbers dropped five per cent from 2019 to 2020 according to ABS data.
Volunteer West project officer Jack Fawcett said numbers in the west are still lower than pre-COVID, and people are generally opting for more casual roles than long-term commitments.
“Overall, there’s been a downturn,” he said.
“People are a lot more time poor… Everybody’s worrying about getting their mortgage paid and that means that they have less time for themselves and more time they need work.”
Despite this, Mr Fawcett said there are still pockets of positivity with people fueled by the want for reconnection post-lockdowns. One example he pointed to was the stong volunteer culture at Plumpton’s Dal Baba Bidhi Chand Ji Khalsa Shaouni Sikh Temple.
“The west is a super diverse part of Melbourne and there are these amazing groups of communities that are really resilient and work well together,” he said.
Mr Fawcett said groups across the west he’s seen that could benefit from volunteers include the Friends of the Melton Botanic Gardens, Caroline Chisholm Society, Women and Mentoring and Multiple Birth Volunteer Support.
“I think volunteering is an amazing thing, what it can do for the community… whether you’re a regular volunteer, or you just do one-off little stints, you’re impact is huge,” he said.
“It’s just a great way to connect with your community. There’s a lot of talk these days about how we’re becoming more isolated, we’re losing touch with, you know, our human side, our social side. This is an amazing antidote for that.
“You end up spending time with people you might not necessarily meet in your normal day to day life. I’m definitely better for my volunteering experiences. If you [want to] have a bit of a change in your life, volunteering is amazing way to do it.”
Mr Fawcett said if you’d like to volunteer but aren’t sure where to start, you can contact Volunteer West for help finding roles you’re interested in.
Details: www.volunteerwest.org.au/
