Written by Kate Armstrong
The summer holidays are a fantastic time to be productive and spend time volunteering in your local area, or further afield!
Volunteering allows you to make new friends, learn new skills (especially practical ones), invest in your future career, and give back to your community in a helpful way.
There are endless places to volunteer over the summer, and the best part is that you are able to choose wherever you are interested!
One of the best ways to find somewhere that you can volunteer tailor to your own preferences in the website Go Volunteer.
1. Foodbank
Foodbank provide food and groceries to charities and school breakfast programs in every state and territory.
Foodbank relies heavily on volunteers who generously give their time to help out!
The main task that volunteers do is packing food and grocery orders to distribute to the community partners.
From sorting and labelling items to stocking shelves and packing food orders, all help is needed!
2. Emergency Volunteering NSW
If you are someone that is passionate about helping out during times of crisis, the best thing you can do is get involved with an emergency service or volunteer organisation before a crisis occurs.
One of these is Spontaneous Volunteers who support the NSW SES.
As a spontaneous volunteer you do not have a long term commitment and can assist with a range of roles including:
- Protecting properties from flooding
- Assisting residents prepare for severe weather events
- Answering phones and providing administrative support
- Assisting with logistical roles to support teams in the field
- Clearing debris and cleaning up after storms
- Providing information and updates to local residents
For a more permanent commitment, you can be a part of one of the many different organisations involved in emergency management and response including:
- NSW Ambulance
- SES
- NSW Police Force
- NSW Health
- St John Ambulance NSW
- The Australian Red Cross
- Surf Life Saving NSW
3. Charity Organisations
A final great way to expand your skills and experience is through volunteering with St Vincent de Paul Society (Vinnies), Salvation Army or the Red Cross.
Vinnies has a wide variety of options for volunteering, so pick one that suits you the best!
Retail volunteering is an opportunity to serve the community in a supportive team environment and you can interact with local individuals!
- This involves jobs such as pricing and tagging items, organising stock, sorting donations, shop maintenance and customer service.
- Return and Earn Volunteers work out of eight sites across NSW where the Return and Earn depots are.
They are in need of volunteers to operate the sites, drive forklift, assist with customer service and delivery services. - Youth Volunteering with Vinnies are an integral part of local communities as they help out for Buddies Days/Teen days and the Green Teams Program.
And if these options don’t sound like something that you would be keen on, your local Council Chambers is a great spot to reach out to for the more rural and remote towns across NSW that may have more precise opportunities for you and your friends!
