“A lot of employers would prefer to see volunteer hours on a resume rather than awards or top marks.”
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That is the message that Tamworth Regional Council’s Volunteer Coordinator Veronica Filby has been hearing as local organisations use National Volunteers Week to recruit more troops, while also honouring the helping hands they already have.
On Monday over 20 local volunteer driven organisations showcased what they have to offer at an Expo, held at the Community Centre.
Whether it is keeping time on the sideline of a sports game, helping with transport transporting, hosting a raffle even responding to natural disasters volunteering touches all aspects of Australian, and almost every organisation is screaming out for more.
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This year the them is Give a little. Change a lot, and organisations are using it t push the value of volunteering on to younger generations.
“There are benefits to volunteering for all ages,” Mrs Filby said.
“For people that have just left school, are working part time, or looking for work it looks great on a resume and many employers are looking for it.
“There are also plenty of skills and experience to be gained and very few organisations that wouldn’t suit younger people – it is not all nine to five type work, you can do as little as an hour.”
Locally several organisations are desperately short of volunteers, including the Marsupial Park and Powerhouse Museum, while wildlife organisation WIRES is currently being inundated by injured animals that have been hit by cars in the search for water and food.
For Gwenda Jarman, who currently has six joey kangaroos in her care, the allure is simple, and there are plenty more opportunities available.
“The satisfaction of returning injured animals to the wild is huge – it wouldn’t happen without the WIRES carers,” she said.
“Taking joeys or wildlife in as a long term commitment, but there are a lot of other jobs that people can do and every little bit helps – we always need more people.”
On the other end of the scale Ashleigh Halton from Youth Frontiers has plenty of young people lined up, but now needs up to 15 adults to take them on as mentors.
“They do make a difference – you can see the change is the students from the start to the end of the program,” she said.
“Knowing they are making a difference to future generations is a real highlight for anyone wishing to be a mentor.”
On Thursday the Volunteer of the Year, and Volunteer Organisation of the Year will be announced at the Community Centre starting at 10am.
