Victoria’s first ever State of Volunteering Report has found that a remarkable 40 percent of Victorians over the age of 15 are contributing their time and energy to support the community.
The report was launched by Parliamentary Secretary for Carers and Volunteers Anthony Carbines on Monday 19 October.
It estimates volunteering contributed a massive $58.1 billion worth of economic value in 2019.
The new report will underpin the State Government’s first volunteering strategy, which will guide future investment to support volunteering activities across the state.
Community consultation for the Victorian Volunteer Strategy is already underway with residents able to contribute their views at engage.vic.gov.au/victorian-volunteer-strategy.
Developed in partnership with Volunteering Victoria, the report highlights the many economic, social and cultural benefits being delivered across the state by 2.3 million Victorian volunteers.
This support includes a diverse range of activities, from helping community members with their weekly shopping, improving our environment, tutoring school students to working with our emergency services.
The report found that social connection is the number one reason people volunteer.
To support volunteering during the coronavirus pandemic, the State Government launched We Volunteer, a new online platform to connect prospective volunteers with community organisations who rely on volunteers to help Victorians in need.
The platform allows people looking for volunteer roles to register their skills and search for roles that meet their interests, and many of these roles able to be performed from home.
Volunteer organisations are also able to sign-up to the portal and use it to make callouts for volunteers needed on their various projects.
