Lending a Hand
The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is one of Australia’s leading humanitarian agencies, well known for development and relief work in Third World countries. How they work is what makes them successful—they collaborate with partners and communities. It’s all about local people helping local people.
But ADRA also works within Australia, where its primary work is performed mostly by volunteers. Hundreds of people around the country come together simply to help out where they can, in ways they can, for as long as they can. Some volunteers work full time in ADRA Op Shops, others a few hours per month in a refuge, and still others spend an evening on an ADRA street project. Each contribution is valued and necessary.
ADRA wants to share this philosophy of service with the wider Australian population, motivating them to serve others and “lend a hand.”
The ADRA “Lend a Hand” initiative captures the Aussie spirit of looking after your mate. Ordinary Australians are being encouraged to roll up their sleeves and help make an extraordinary difference to the lives of people in need, like at-risk youth, people and families on no or very low incomes, those who have suffered abuse, the sick and the elderly.
The benefits of volunteering cannot be overstated. Here’s one volunteer’s story.
Busy single mother of four, Michelle O’Sullivan, has been a volunteer at the ADRA Community Centre for Emergency Relief for three years. With the support of her family, Michelle volunteers about 10 hours a week. She says she loves helping other people and there are many benefits. “It’s so rewarding to get a thank-you card from someone, and to spend time with the other volunteers,” she says.
Michelle became involved at the Centre after receiving a food parcel three some years ago. She went back to help out as her way of saying thank you, and has been volunteering ever since! It makes her feel more confident and fulfilled, she says.
“Sitting at home can make you feel like you’re the only person in the world with problems. The feeling I get from helping other people is wonderful.”
Volunteering is not hard—and figuring out your place in service isn’t either.
As part of ADRA’s Lend a Hand campaign, ADRA has developed VIP (volunteer ideas profile), an interactive assessment tool to help you discover what types of service best suit you. The assessment is available on ADRA’s Lend a Hand web site www.ADRAlendahand.org.au.
The web site also provides encouraging stories of other volunteers like Michelle, plus contact details for a variety of volunteer charity organisations, including ADRA itself.
Check it out!
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