Volunteering – give a little, change a lot

Did you know that Connect Health & Community is lucky enough to work alongside 200+ wonderful volunteers?

These amazing men and women enable us to provide more services to more people in our community more of the time. Over the past 10 months, our volunteers have given over 18000 hours of service time – time that Connect Heath & Community do not receive funding for. By offering their time, skills and dedication, they are changing lives.  

Volunteers – good for the community and the economy
For community health organisations, volunteers are our lifeblood. But the stats show that volunteering is a nation- and industry-wide epidemic, supporting not only local communities, but also the Australian economy. In 2016, an estimated total of 932 million hours was volunteered. Research demonstrates that volunteering yields a 450% return for every dollar invested. Nationally, this is an estimated annual contribution of $290 billion. A pretty decent return on investment!

So why do people volunteer?
According to Volunteering Australia, people are inspired to be involved in volunteering because they:

• want to give something back to the community
• are motivated by a personal belief in a cause or issue.
• want to meet new people, build their social network and/or strengthen their ties to the community
• simply want to make a difference.

And it seems that volunteers really do get what they’re looking for ‒ the State of Volunteering in Australia Report found that 93% of people saw positive changes as a result of their volunteering efforts.

Our own volunteers certainly echo these sentiments. As Champika, one of our Community Transport volunteer drivers says, "My greatest happiness is giving a little back to those in need. I’m blessed.​"

Considering volunteering? Get in touch
If you’d like to give a little and change a lot for people who need a little extra help, please contact us on 03 9575 5312 or click here for more information. Whether it’s a couple of days a week or a couple of hours a month, every moment you can spare can make a huge difference in someone’s life.