Mount Blowhard Primary School pupils learn through volunteering

Grade six Mount Blowhard Primary School pupils Cameron, Gus, Leonard, Paddy, Bella and Jamie reflected on their volunteering efforts with principal Sue Knight in the lead up to National Volunteer Week.

Bella shared her experience baking and selling cupcakes at school to raise funds for breast cancer research. The idea was triggered by her friend's great aunt who was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Paddy spoke about cooking a barbecue for the school to raise funds for the Queensland CWA during time of drought. While helping at the event Paddy said he learnt about the impact of drought on communities.

The Mount Blowhard Primary School Walkathon, the school's biggest annual fundraiser, raised $700 this year for their sponsor child Sushma who lives in India.

Jamie and Leonard said participating in the walk helped them learn about the Ryder Cheshire Foundation and what it is like for students in India.

Gus and Cameron's big fundraising event was a head shave to support melanoma research. The pair raised $1800 at a time when Cameron's father was undergoing treatment for melanoma.

In other volunteering efforts, the school's choir sings for Creswick nursing home residents and grade six students place flags on the graves of soldiers on Anzac Day.

"It is easier to help people than you might think and you are rewarded after," Gus said.

"By doing this we learn how important little things can be and how important it is to volunteer and make a difference," Cameron said.

All pupils said they would encourage others to become involved in volunteering and they were likely to take up volunteering opportunities during secondary school.

Principal Sue Knight said volunteering helped teach pupils about current events and connect them to other places.

"It is wonderful real life learning and you actually do something that makes a difference," she said.

Australia celebrates and acknowledges the generous contribution of its volunteers throughout National Volunteer Week from May 20 to May 26.

The Ballarat community is celebrating the generosity of its volunteers during National Volunteer Week from May 20 to May 26.

A morning tea on Monday will launch the week to celebrate the impact of volunteer service on our community and say thank you to volunteers.

Almost 20 per cent of Victorians participate in formal volunteering according to Australian Bureau of Statistics 2016 Census data.

The same data shows just more than 23 per cent of people in Ballarat said they participated in formal volunteering.

Ballarat Foundation chief executive Matt Jenkins said while ABS data could provide some indication of volunteering in Ballarat, the foundation was looking to implement a community-wide system to collect Ballarat specific volunteering data next year.

"We are looking at ways to implement a data collection system that will help us understand volunteering locally and the impact local volunteers have on the community accurately," he said.

ABS data shows people aged 45 to 49 in Victoria have the highest rate of volunteers at 24 per cent while 19.8 per cent of 15 to 19-year-olds recorded formal volunteering.

The rate drops to 18.3 per cent for 20 to 24 -year-olds and 14.9 per cent for 25 to 29-year-olds.

In 2014 in Victoria 21 per cent of volunteers worked in welfare/ community organisations, 25 per cent in education and training, 11 per cent in health, 19 per cent in religious activities and 32 per cent in sport and recreation and 29 per cent said other.

There are currently 62 volunteering opportunities in Ballarat listed on SEEK Volunteer, ranging from op shop assistants to a community street soccer program support role.