General News
14 May, 2023
Volunteers Week - generous and inspirational
By GAELLE BROAD IT’S a great pleasure to be able to acknowledge the incredible contribution of volunteers in our local Loddon Shire communities during Volunteers Week. I believe it’s extra important to celebrate next week, as most volunteers I...
By GAELLE BROAD
IT’S a great pleasure to be able to acknowledge the incredible contribution of volunteers in our local Loddon Shire communities during Volunteers Week.
I believe it’s extra important to celebrate next week, as most volunteers I know do not seek the spotlight for the valuable work they do. Yet, there’s no doubt our communities would simply not be the same without them.
Volunteering is defined as ‘time willingly given for the common good and without financial gain’.
In my role as the member for Northern Victoria Region, I am constantly amazed at the selfless time and effort that is so ‘willingly given’ by volunteers for the common good.
In the past few days alone, I have met volunteers from the CWA, RSL, op shops, homeless services, disaster relief, health support groups – this is just the tip of the volunteering iceberg.
It has been inspiring to hear the stories of volunteers who generously gave of their time and energy to help regional communities impacted by last year’s devastating floods.
Volunteers are still working with the flood victims in a range of roles.
Individual volunteers are the foundation of our local communities; they bring people together.
Over 2.3million Victorians volunteer an average of 224 hours each year, and they contribute $58billion in value to Victoria’s economy.
I may be biased, but I believe volunteering is much stronger in rural and regional Victoria than it is in the city. As a volunteer you can do something you enjoy, to help others, make new friends and learn new skills.
It seems that there is a volunteering role to suit anybody, and interestingly it’s not just the community that benefits. Research suggests volunteering can actually help you live longer. AJournal of Health Psychologyreviewof the Longitudinal Study on Aging, which compiled data from more than 7,000 Americans aged 70 and older, found that people who volunteered frequently tended to live longer than those who didn’t!
Thank you to all those who volunteer in our local communities in so many different ways, such as at sports clubs, schools, churches, CFA and SES, Scouts, park runs, hall committees, Red Cross, neighbourhood houses, Landcare, ag societies, homeless support services and op shops, Lions, CWA, RSL, refugee and migrant services, disability support, aged care, Foodshare, animal shelters and community radio.
There is a declining trend in volunteering. Let us work together to change it.
In National Volunteer’s Week, as always, thank you to all our volunteers for making the world a better place.