Three reasons why volunteering now is great for the community and your career
17 May 2020 at 5:25 pm
We sit down with the head of Volunteering Australia to find out more
Thanks to lockdown restrictions, most of us have had a lot of spare time on our hands.
While you could bake another loaf of banana bread or sourdough, volunteering is a great way to put your skills to use, boost your career, and help your community.
We sat down with Adrienne Picone, the CEO of Volunteering Australia, to find out what the benefits of volunteering are and how to go about it in the time of coronavirus.
Keep your mind active
If your hours have been cut or you’ve been made redundant in the fallout of COVID-19, volunteering for a great cause will help keep your mind sharp.
“Volunteering is an ideal way to stay active, and stay connected to the community,” Adrienne says.
“It’s also shown to improve mental wellbeing, making people feel happier and healthier.”
Boost your job prospects
Volunteering can lead you off the beaten track and connect you to people and a career that you might not have previously considered.
“It’s a great way to have new experiences, [and] meet new people that might lead to paid opportunities down the track,” she says.
Keeping connected with your community
At a time when the advice is to stay inside and away from others, using your time to help others (in a safe and physically distant way) is a great way to give back to vulnerable people in the community.
“Crises can bring people together, as we have seen over the past few months with the response to the bushfires and now COVID-19,” she says.
“It is heartening to see so many people offering to volunteer at this time, and it shows that people around Australia really want to connect with each other and make a difference in their communities.”
Adrienne also says it’s important if you are keen to volunteer, that you stay up to date with the latest government guidelines around physical distancing and avoid putting yourself and others in the community at risk.
