Why Volunteer?
Almost five million Australians volunteer every year. They give their time and resources to help others. Candice Jaques of ADRA, a charity that relies heavily on local volunteers, asks, “What’s in it for them?”
Lili Radziszewk
Lili Radziszewki, a primary school chaplain, agrees that volunteering is a very rewarding experience. Lili volunteers her time to organise community service trips for Adelaide teenagers to the Davenport Aboriginal community in Port Augusta. She says she finds the trips worthwhile because she meets people she wouldn’t normally come in contact with and connects closely with the community.
“Knowing how bad things can be for some people is very humbling,” she says. “I encourage everyone to consider volunteering—it’s a wonderfully satisfying experience.” Roxley Vollrath “I just get satisfaction from helping people,” explains volunteer plumber Roxley Vollrath. Roxley, a full-time nurse and father of three, also owns a plumbing business and volunteers at the ADRA Southlakes Women’s Refuge on the NSW coast. Roxley has volunteered at the Centre for about three years, working on small jobs and providing advice for larger projects. His motivation is simply to help others.
Brian Beadnell
Brian Beadnell, of Queensland, agrees.
“I can’t explain the feeling of helping someone who’s down on their luck. It’s definitely worth it,” he explains. Brian has been feeding homeless people for 10 years at Vital Connections Soup Van, helping up to 50 people in the city each night. He spends about eight hours a week serving in the van, shopping for food and picking up donations. “It’s a real pleasure to spend time with such nice people. I didn’t expect to get as much out of it as I have,” he says.
Personal satisfaction is perhaps the most readily identified benefit to volunteering.
But there are other advantages:
Significance instead of meaninglessness.
Helping others provides a way for us to actually matter in this vast, busy and often chaotic world. Volunteering suddenly means that our contribution means something, and we become significant.
Connection instead of crowded loneliness.
Australia is becoming, in many places, overpopulated and yet under-connected. Making a voluntary contribution in an area of our interest often provides a place to meet like-minded people with whom we can build deep, long-lasting friendships.
Community instead of individualism.
Individualism leads us to believe that what I want is what really matters. But this often means that I get what I want, and lose what I need. I don’t need more of me, I need people and community. Volunteering provides an environment where people get to know each other, work together and form bonds for life.
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