If you’re looking for an opportunity to contribute to your community then volunteering can be a powerful way to give back and offers a whole lot of health benefits.
Volunteer for Knox is jointly governed through a partnership between the five Knox Neighbourhood Houses known as the Knox Learning Alliance that consists of – Coonara Community House, The Basin Community House, Rowville Neighbourhood Learning Centre, Mountain District Learning Centre and Orana Neighbourhood House.
The Volunteer Resource Centre is funded by Knox City Council and its purpose is to increase volunteering opportunities for individuals and organisations in Knox.
Volunteer for Knox also offers Free and low cost training once you register with us.
Currently just over 24,000 people volunteer formally within the Knox municipality or 15.7 % of the Knox population
People volunteer for many reasons. They include building confidence, gaining work experience, giving back to community, to be active and keep busy, personal satisfaction, social interaction, helping others, using skills, learning new skills, making a difference and practicing English.
Here are some points to remember about volunteering.
• It’s always a matter of choice
• It only takes place in the not-for-profit sector
• It’s about participating in the community
• It’s unpaid
• It creates positive change
So Why is volunteering so important
• It empowers individuals
• It adds value to not-for-profit organisations
• It strengthens communities
• It’s worth billions to the community
The Knox municipality has an even spread of volunteering, however, the Basin, Wantirna, Scoresby and Ferntree Gully North have a higher proportion of active volunteers
Volunteer for Knox resource centre keeps growing as does our placement of volunteers in Knox assisting over 125 registered not for profit services who couldn’t operate without their incredible teams of volunteers. Since 2015 we have placed more than 1000 volunteers. The biggest contributors to volunteer services are aged 35.
Fifty percent of our volunteers were born overseas in 29 countries, from China, Iran, Kenya, Poland, South America and Switzerland to Croatia. They can speak Arabic, Hindi, Japanese, Persian, Mandarin, and many more languages. Such wonderful diversity in our Knox Volunteers!
Volunteering Australia, our peak body, defines volunteering as “Time willingly given for the common good and without financial gain.”
Volunteering is at the centre of Australia’s national identity, with nearly 6 million Australians – or 31 per cent of the population – engaging in formal volunteering, making an estimated annual economic and social contribution of $290 billion dollars.
Volunteering has woven itself into the fabric of everyday life/, and Australian society is increasingly dependent on volunteering activities and programs. This includes the arts, education, emergency services, sport, the environment, health, aged care, disability support, tourism, and community welfare.
Volunteering is also critical to the delivery of the Australian Government’s priorities of building strong and resilient communities, by encouraging economic participation, reducing isolation and loneliness, and increasing social inclusion, community resilience, participation and social cohesion.
Doctors are now even prescribing volunteering to some patients as a way of increasing their self-esteem, reduce loneliness and give them a purpose in life.
So if you’re interested in volunteering please contact Sally or Mandy at Volunteer for Knox. Email: office@volunteerforknox.com.au or call 0429968822 for more information.
