OLD modelling is no longer conducive to promote volunteering in our community and a failure to change could leave this vital workforce to disappear, leading advocates warn.
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More than two-third of volunteers have returned as "change-makers" in the community in the wake of pandemic restrictions easing, a new report from Volunteering Australia shows to open National Volunteer Week.
Only, Volunteering Victoria chief executive officer Thu-Trang Tran said this was not enough to keep communities ticking, given the declining state of volunteer numbers before the pandemic.
Ms Tran said people still wanted to volunteer and make a positive difference in their communities but modern society demands served up a mismatch in needs versus availability on the volunteering front.
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This echoes what The Ballarat Foundation chief executive officer Andrew Eales has long deemed a volunteer crisis. The foundation oversees the region's volunteer support program with Mr Eales uniting with other regional volunteering bodies to lobby the state government to invest in making people a Commonwealth Games legacy.
Ms Tran said time equality was a major hurdle.
"There needs to be a meeting of the minds on what volunteers can do and the type of volunteering," Ms Tran said. "...Placements are usually ties to delivery of services for an organisation and a need for the placement to have regular hours and consistent time. There are many people who work shift work and unpredictable hours - we can't volunteer in the traditional volunteer way any more."
Ms Tran said there was a general perception that volunteering just happened. Only volunteering did not just happen. She said too often there was a lack of investment in a volunteer coordinator and leaders, particularly for big organisations in which such a paid role was typically part-time.
"It's not about people not wanting to volunteer...We need organisations to be supportive because they need volunteers," Ms Tran said. "Everyone goes into volunteering for different reasons. There are hundreds of different stories for why people volunteer. There is a general view young people are altruistic but we shouldn't make young people feel alienated because it is not that they all do not want to volunteer."
The Ballarat Foundation aims to help volunteer-led organisations make the roles "as simple as possible", Mr Eales said, but "in reality there is not enough investment in that space to keep up with community needs".
Mr Eales said state government investment in the foundation's community hub development was a great step forward. Discussions with the state government had been positive in terms of investment with the 2026 Commonwealth Games in attracting and offering volunteers a positive experience to keep them coming back.
"There needs to be a better system and resourcing to make that happen. There is an opportunity to do that now," Mr Eales said. "Everyone from the premier down has been talking about the great legacy of the Commonwealth Games. A lot of that is infrastructure but there can be a people-based legacy.
"If we keep 10,000 volunteers from the Games, imagine what a difference that could make to a local footy club or the arts community. It would benefit not only an organisation but individuals as well, from a mental health perspective, and the connections that come from volunteering."
People can explore volunteering opportunities in the region today at Barkly Square, from noon to 6pm, hosted by The Ballarat Foundation, BGT Jobs and Training and Ballarat Regional Multicultural Council.
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