Today, on Valentine’s Day, Volunteering Australia and State and Territory Peak partners hosted the ‘Share the Love’ for Volunteer Support Services event at Australian Parliament House to kick off a national volunteering advocacy campaign. Minister for Social Services Christian Porter MP and Shadow Assistant Minister for Families and Social Services Louise Pratt spoke at the event, attended by politicians and representatives of volunteer support services from around the country.

It sounds like a simple question but it’s not an easy one to answer.

Volunteering Queensland and the RFBAQ are taking on the challenge to clearly describe the important work 110,000 unpaid emergency volunteers from organisations such as Rural Fire Brigades, Coast Guards, SES, Volunteer Marine Rescue, Ambulance First Responders and other unsung heroes do across Queensland.

The homeless and housing hub run by Volunteering Queensland, in partnership with the Safe By The Bay initiative, will provide essential services to people experiencing homelessness in the Bayside area.

Volunteer Support Services: Building strong & resilient communities

Volunteering Australia has made a 2017-18 Federal Pre-Budget Submission including a series of recommendations to further strengthen the Government’s commitment to volunteering, whilst also greatly strengthening the work of the sector to build strong and resilient communities.

Dr. Megan Paull’s workshop: Dealing with the tough stuff – Managing the confrontational aspects of working with volunteers, explored the difficult questions on every volunteer manager’s mind. Booked out well in advance, their respect for volunteers was shown by this enthusiasm to understand how to approach challenging issues with due consideration.

Cheyenne is a Year 12 student from Ipswich State High School who is completing a CHC34015 Certificate III in Active volunteering through our Students As Active Volunteers Initiative (SAAVI).

Cheyenne loves to help others and brighten up their day. She has dedicated time to volunteering at The Animal Welfare League, Cityhope Care and Tarampa Lodge. One of her most memorable experiences has been playing with the kittens at The Animal Welfare League.

Volunteering Australia (VA) is pleased to announce the appointment of a new Chief Executive Officer for the national peak body. 

Board President, Tim Jackson, today announced the appointment of Ms Adrienne Picone to take on the role after the current CEO Brett Williamson finishes in December. 

Mr Jackson said, “After a very comprehensive recruitment process, the Volunteering Australia Board is pleased to secure Adrienne for the role. Adrienne has been CEO of Volunteering Tasmania for 7 years and
has been a great contributor to many significant Volunteering Tasmania and Volunteering Australia initiatives. Adrienne has extensive knowledge, management and leadership experience in the community and volunteering sector.”

Mt Maria College Petrie Year 12 student Linzi is completing a CHC24015 Certificate II in Active volunteering through our Students As Active Volunteers Initiative (SAAVI).

Linzi is a student that approaches volunteering with vigour, excitement and joy. 

She has been volunteering her time at Riding for the Disabled Association Queensland (RDAQ) where she assists children with disabilities interact with horses and leads the horses around.

Conducted every five years, the Census is the largest form of information gathering in Australia.

The Census tells us things about the way that every day Australians live, and helps us to plan for the future. Statistics tell us that every year over 6 million Australians volunteer – but we want to know if that’s the whole picture. 

With the re-release of the National Definition of Volunteering in 2015, we looked deeper than ever before at the diverse ways in which people volunteer.

Murrumba State Secondary College Year 11 student Amba is completing a CHC34015 Certificate III in Active volunteering through our Students As Active Volunteers Initiative (SAAVI).

Amba is enjoying working towards the certificate and has completely embraced volunteering, both as a subject and as a philosophy.

She has been volunteering at neighbouring Undurba Primary School helping year 5 students with their reading. She enjoys reading to them when they are behaving, otherwise it can provide her with a bit of a challenge.