Volunteers are the lifeblood of our community and come from all walks of life.

They are working people, students and professionals; they are young people and retirees.

They come from every suburb and community and from a variety of cultural, educational and religious backgrounds.

National Volunteer Week (NVW) is an annual celebration to acknowledge the generous contribution of our nation’s volunteers.

From May 8-14, 2017 thousands of events across the country will be held to say thank you to the more than six million Australians who volunteer, including breakfasts, morning/afternoon teas, and luncheons as well as open days, award ceremonies, picnics, forums, movie nights and training sessions.

Established in 1989, National Volunteer Week is the largest celebration of volunteers and volunteerism in Australia, and provides an opportunity to highlight the role of volunteers in our community and to say thank you to Australians who volunteer.

This advertising feature is sponsored by the following businesses. Click the links to find out more:

As we celebrate the 28th anniversary of National Volunteer Week take time out to say a heartfelt thank you to all volunteers.

Volunteers are everywhere; they greet us with a smile where ever we go in our daily life.

Volunteers support our health and welfare agencies, they welcome our visitors to town.

They greet us at the theatre, our arts and cultural venues, as they care for the environment or for our lost animals and injured wildlife. 

Volunteers are good sports, supporting our recreational fund-raising activities and lending a hand to support our community events. 

Australian volunteers contribute 700 million hours of unpaid work each year to their local communities which equates to a $43 billion boost to the Australian economy, a much larger contribution to GDP than tourism, mining or agriculture.

It’s not hard to find volunteer information about current opportunities, or your rights and responsibilities as volunteers. 

Your local council, school, opportunity shop or aged care home is a good place to start. For more information see www.volunteeringaustralia.org.