Amidst the pandemic, while many of us have stayed home, volunteers in essential services have remained on the frontline. Volunteers have been packaging food deliveries, checking in on the elderly, supporting families and helping others through these tough times.
In an ordinary year, a third (31%) of Aussies volunteer their time, contributing 128 hours of their time to the community [1]. This year however, we have called on our volunteers like never before.
With over 200,000 volunteers in emergency services[2] risking themselves to save others, emergency management volunteers are more important than ever, working alongside other essential volunteers in affected communities
This National Volunteer Week (18 May – 24 May), to recognise all volunteers, Volunteering Australia will be holding online activities and are calling on Aussies to ‘wave your appreciation’ to volunteers by sharing a photo of themselves waving their hand of thanks and using the hashtags #NVW2020 and #waveforvolunteers.
Natasha Ferre Bentley caught up with Scott Miller, Chief Executive Volunteering Victoria