Volunteering is the Australian way

Volunteering Tasmania (VT) is urging Tasmanians to think about volunteering this Australia Day.
VT CEO Adrienne Picone said over six million people in Australia volunteer. It is part of the
Australian way of life.

“Volunteering is part of the very fabric of our society and is demonstrated through our amazing spirit
of giving, which was recently highlighted through the generous support of Tasmanians in the
bushfire clean-up efforts,” Ms Picone said.

“Australian volunteers make up 36 per cent of the national adult population (ABS 2010b) and in
Tasmania alone we have more than 158,000 volunteers who give more than 49,000 hours on any
given day to around 5,000 organisations across the State.”

Ms Picone said volunteering is an expression of our common humanity, a means of building mutual
respect, understanding, trust, solidarity and reciprocity.

“This Australia Day think about those special people in our community, the unsung heroes who will
be volunteering across our community, or at one of the many 26 January celebrations around our
great State,” she said.

“Maybe even think about giving volunteering a go yourself as there is something for everyone to do
at volunteeringtas.org.au.

“Volunteers are the core of our community providing essential services including health care, aged
care, heritage and the arts, sport and recreation, education, environment and conservation, social
justice, emergency services, families and young people and events, to name just a few.

“This Australia Day we are encouraging everyone to consider volunteering, It could be as simple as
checking on an elderly neighbour, helping at the local sausage sizzle, helping with animal rescue,
joining a vital organisation such as the SES or jumping on the Volunteering Tasmania website to see
if there are any volunteer positions suitable for you to assist with the Tasmanian fire clean-up
efforts.”
Volunteering Tasmania