Just where do you start when you wanna ‘give back’ to the world and support a worthwhile cause?
Worry no more! We’re here to help you sidestep all of that.
When it comes to our mates at La Trobe, they run an excellent program that rewards Year 12 students who volunteer and do their bit for the community. Through the program school leavers have the opportunity to secure a place at university ahead of ATAR results. (You can find more info HERE).
As for how to make a decision on where to donate your time, we spoke with Holly Gordon – that rad girl who created her own not-for-profit and helps people for a living – and she gave us a few pieces of wisdom about volunteering for all you fresh-faced volunteering enthusiasts.
1. Find an issue.
What has you throwing shoes at the TV, ranting to your mates, or watching endless transformation videos of unloved animals? That’s the one. It’ll be the kind of thing you won’t notice you’re giving up your time for because it’s just that important to you. Maybe you work in hospitality and hate seeing food thrown away – try OzHarvest. Dismayed at the treatment of asylum seekers? Give some time to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre. Mental health is close to your heart? Team up with beyond blue on weekends or Lifeline on an evening.
Or take something you already love and work it into something worthwhile. You’re a dancer? Bust a Move Dance (BAMD) helps kids with disabilities be independent and creative by teaching them awesome moves. Coder or tech nerd? Check out Random Hacks of Kindness – they partner skilled computer masterminds with charities and NGOs in need of a little technical love.
2. Research.
Places like My Community Directory, Seek Volunteer, Go Volunteer and Ethical Jobs have fantastic searchable databases of much needed work happening in interesting organisations. Expand your mind beyond some of the bigger causes and find some more unique, smaller teams doing important work where your time might be a bit more valuable.
3. Match your skills & availabilities.
Let’s be honest, those pesky jobs or student chores do tend to take up a fair chunk of your time. So work out when and where you’ve got free time to find the place you’re most likely to stay with. Are you a designer with a few hours to spare after work? Offer to do some branding or website work for an organisation without the resources. Marketing skills would also come in handy in a similar situation. Work from home all day and spend most of it watching adorable dog videos? Foster a guide dog puppy.
Photo: Guide Dogs Australia
4. Check if it’s legit.
Always a concern. If you’re working with a charity they should be registered with the Australia Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission (ACNC), otherwise be savvy and check out what they’ve worked on before, looking for things like level of membership or support, campaign reach, effectiveness and impact.
Another good way of knowing is to see who some of these organisations are in partnership with, or who they’ve been sponsored by. For example, the Country Fire Authority (CFA, or RFS for all you NSWelshmen), Duke of Edinburgh Award and St John’s Ambulance have all formed some excellent mateships with the La Trobe Uni Aspire program and volunteering with these guys (awesome work aside) can actually get you early entry to La Trobe.
5. No time outside work? Be an intrapreneur.
Transform your company from within to reflect the changes you want to see. Is it a big bank that could spare some cash to sponsor a charity event? Work in a company that prints forests of paper each day and has no recycling bins? Do you look round and see dudes everywhere and fewer innovative and interesting women? Bring some ethics to your workplace – big or small.
Title image: Ian Waldie, Getty Images.
Images by Artur Debat, Brendan Thorne via Getty Images.
