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I am retired and volunteer as a Speaker for Beyond Blue. With a lived experience of anxiety & depression, I share my story in the hope that by doing so I offer hope to those challenged by mental health issues. I am also vice chairman of a voluntary group called Peninsula Voice who are Mornington/Victoria based. We run forums on significant social issues e.g. gambling, loneliness, homelessness etc. It is very fulfilling to be able to give back to the community and at the same time learn many things about those doing it tough in the community.

Volunteering is a way of giving back. I support the Australian Air Force Cadets, which is a youth development organisation of over 9000 13-18 year olds across Australia. I was in the Air Force Cadets before I joined the Air Forxe and it set me on a path to a great aerospace career. I also support the Australian Federation Guard as their Patron and also various WW2 veteran organisations. I am the Executive Secretary of the Australian Institute of Navigation which recognises young members of Defence who excel in navigation and related training.

thanks for the opportunity here, Cathy. I have spent approx 2 decades volunteering, outside of my working life capacity. Firstly, for the growth of a game I love (AFL (NSW/ACT)) as both a coach and as a committee member at grassroots level. Then later, as a Home Tutor for Mission Australia - ESOL new Australians, and now (both very recently) at two wonderful organisations - Youth Off the Streets Nightwalks and at RAISE Foundation. Initially I began volunteering for the love of a footy code - to grow a region to help implement and sustain a second team in NSW. Then I chose to volunteer to support our community, because the stronger the individual, the stronger the team as I see it. And now, I volunteer to be connected to humanity. To reach out a hand - because life is hard anyway. For all of us. But some of us often have more resources, more support networks, and sometimes a more friendly demographic to suffer our hardships within. Not all have that luxury. I would rather know that I had helped and given, than ignored and taken. I guess its as simple as that. Oh, and the good vibes I get from it within me - that's such a bonus!

For my business Rocket Launcher Group (Rocket Launcher & Perth Networking Club) we have tried to create an environment that is connected to not for profits, not just for volunteering but providing in-kind support. We have done this through areas of passion and advocacy such as supporting Perth Spectres Basketball Club to create and inclusive safe place for LGBTQIA+ people and friends in Perth to play Basketball. We have also supported and volunteered in a number of ways through queer sport or raising funds for other local not for profits in Perth. I have personally donated hundreds of hours a year to supporting not for profits. I also came up with the BASKET-BALL which is a Gala Ball for LGBTQIA+ people in Perth for Perth Spectres Basketball Club. This Ball has in tern supporting many LGBTQIA+ not for profits such at PFLAG+ Perth, Ending Conversion Practices, Freedom Centre, The Pinnacle Foundation, GRAI - GLBT Rights in Ageing and TransFolk of WA! This year we are supporting Living Proud WA. This event takes up so much time but the value is seeing people have fun, feeling a part of the community. I volunteer for causes close to my heart. The benefit is long term business connections and good standing in the community.

I volunteer for Australian Kookaburra Kids Foundation. I do this at the moment on weekends or days off so I can attend camps or activity days. AKKF supports young people who are impacted by family mental illness, with an aim to empower them to build resilience to reach their full potential. Why did I choose AKKF? I wanted to find a way to give back. In my volunteer role I can see the difference I am making by engaging with the young people. It’s so important to help them have fun, know what supports are available, strategies to help in stressful times and reduce the stigma. What are the main benefits of volunteering? Other than helping young people, I have developed skills in leadership, difficult conversations, a deeper understanding of mental health, team work and have built my own resilience. Come join us at Australian Kookaburra Kids Foundation Carly Visscher, PLV

After 42 years in the transport industry I finished paid work in June 2022. I am now volunteering in the Uniting Church and 3 months ago was commissioned as a Pastor and am leading a church plant in Karralta Park, South Australia. I am loving this new stage of my life and can bring many skills and experiences acquired in my paid career to this new role. I took on this new career in response to prayerful consideration of what I believed God was calling me to in this stage of my life- just as I believed God called me to be a transport engineer in an earlier time. Volunteering is a very fulfilling activity.

Volunteering is my way of helping and giving back to the community we live in. I have been a volunteer firefighter with the NSW Rural Fire Service brigade for the last 9 years. I joined because I was a young and dumb teenager that wanted to be part of something bigger than myself, and boy did the RFS give me just that. In those rewarding years I have found myself both engaging in the disaster response during fires, storms and flooding, but also participating in environmental management during low intensity hazard reduction burns. As an environmental scientist by trade I had a keen eye for environmental change in the landscape and the role fire plays within it and the RFS only help fuel that curiosity. You notice the fuel loading and leaf litter build up, the moisture of the vegetation, the humidity, when the wind is likely to change, when did it rain last, how the weather forecast will impact the fire in the future. The RFS has taken me off the beaten track all over the state, from the jungles of Dorrigo, to the cliffs of the Blue Mountains to the plains of the Southern Ranges. You can help people in the worst of times, and see the best of themselves, there is no more rewarding feeling than giving back. part 1 of 2

Volunteering provides so many benefits and should be part of your career at all stages... ? It's exceptionally useful when starting out in your career - it helps you to gain confidence and experience and start to build a network. ? It's equally as useful mid career when looking at new opportunities, seeking a stronger sense of purpose, and starting to give back. ? It's essential as part of an established career to share your knowledge with those starting out, or to separately gain additional meaning in your life (away from the rat race). There are Zero downsides to volunteering when compared with the benefits.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment. From 2013-2029 I volunteered for 3 different Sony Camps which are annual respite camps for High School Students to become primary carers for children with disabilities and special and intellectual needs. My role was to look after all the IT and Media components of the camp and also dressed up as my alter ego SuperRory. I also assisted with fundraising for the Sony Foundation for two City2Surf events and raised in total for both over $11,000 AUD. With my connections on camp, I have also volunteered and want to volunteer more for a special needs Cricket Team in Hornsby called Blowfly Cricket where I dress up as alter ego again to be a hero for kids to look up to. My superhero alter ego below.

I have volunteered in all my life, I feel it is an important part of giving back into communities. I have always chosen areas I’m passionate about and I give 100% commitment to these as much as a paid role. I am there to serve but also to expand my skill set, to learn and integrate myself into areas of need and be part of a project that is imperative to improve lives. I now frame my whole working life around volunteering because it is often these spaces are where we need leaders, skilled workers who are passionate to work on the ground and help serve our communities that otherwise can’t afford the expertise.