When can I volunteer?
When you help depends on what you want do. If you’re free:
- on a weekday, you could help children with their reading, or work in the kitchen garden or library
- on weeknights or weekends, you could join a committee or help with a working bee
- only for an hour here and there, every little bit helps – no matter what you’re doing.
How you can help
These are just some of the ways you can help. You could:
- help children with their reading and numeracy
- mentor students
- help with a working bee
- share your culture
- coach a sports team
- help develop life skills
- help with camps and excursions
- work in the kitchen garden
- be on a committee
- work behind-the-scenes in the office
- help in the library
- help with fundraising.
Who can volunteer?
Anyone can apply to volunteer. However, it’s always up to a site leader to choose volunteers who will work well with the local community.
There are some expectations that our department has for our volunteers. Our staff will guide you through what’s involved.
Volunteers can come from all walks of life!
You might be just who we need if you:
- are compassionate and kind
- care about children
- want to help young people feel confident and grow
- enjoy helping others.
You might love and want to share your passion for
- words – big and small
- your family’s culture
- music and arts
- science, technology, engineering and maths
- books and reading
- sports, health and fitness
- gardening and food.
What to expect when you apply
If you decide to volunteer, you can expect an introduction that covers some basic things, like:
- your responsibilities and tasks
- training if needed
- work health and safety
- privacy and confidentiality
- relevant history screening if needed
- Responding to Abuse and Neglect – Education and Care Training (RAN-EC) induction.
When you apply to a site to be a volunteer, you’ll be asked some questions and expected to share some information. Sites might use the templates below when recruiting and screening volunteers. These documents are only for use by site staff, but you can download one now – so you know the sort of information you’ll be asked to share.
If you feel you have skills, expertise and knowledge to offer, get in contact with us. It’s never too late to start. No matter who you are or where you’re from, it’s all about wanting to help out.