Being more philanthropic and volunteering in Melbourne is something that we can all strive for, especially when these efforts are directed at causes and communities that are important to us. Usually, once the year gets going it can be hard to retrace those thoughts and get organised enough to shortlist a list of recipients. Fortunately, our team is sharing a list of great causes that need either your time or donations, so check out which ones align with your values and help out where you can. Let us know if we missed any!
Donate to India
It’s a fact that issues impacting the Western world are often even more severe in other countries, especially when these countries have enormous populations. Donate to help India build COVID-resilient communities so that they can better manage the spread of the virus and support the community with the wider issues we are seeing advance each day. Valued donations have already seen 550,000 trained local leaders on the ground and helping, but the fight is far from over. If you want to learn more details about what is happening in India, check out some news sources and widen your social reach.
Volunteering in Melbourne food banks
Victoria has so many food banks and organisations that support food banks, making it a great place for volunteering in Melbourne a few hours each week or month. We have volunteered with FareShare as their weekly staff (prior to COVID-19), and our 2.5-hour shift had us preparing meals that were packaged and handed over to Food Bank Victoria. Sometimes we were making pastries, chopping vegetables, making stews – you name it! It’s a great cause that directly contributes to your community.
Pay the Rent
This isn’t so much volunteering in Melbourne, as it is a worthy donation cause. Pay the Rent is an organisation we have supported. Pay the Rent is a program that is organised by both First Nations and non-First Nationals people, with the funds contributed to First Nations organisations. Their motto is “saying sorry is not enough”, with colonization continuing, no treaty in place and land still stolen. You can nominate an amount and make it a ‘set and forget’ way to give back. You can jump on the Pay the Rent website and see what sorts of organisations are part of the program.
Coaching and refereeing
If you like to be active, you might find that becoming a coach or a referee is a worthwhile way to spend your time. Both children and adults play social sports and rely on the skills of local legends to keep these games on and the games fair. You can attend in-person training courses at Preston for AFL refereeing or reach out to your local council to see what other sports teams need people for volunteering in Melbourne.
When you consider that these sports and social events are the life and soul of some children’s lives, it’s pretty meaningful to be part of such an activity. There is also an advantage of getting active while volunteering in Melbourne with great low impact exercise.
Donate blood
When you donate blood, your blood goes toward saving three lives. That is a huge effort, and you even get a text message from Lifeblood to tell you which hospital used your blood and when, and take it from us – it feels pretty good to have that information! There are donor centres all over Melbourne, and you can easily make an appointment through the app. Gorging on snacks after our donation is a real guilty pleasure, and we have been known to grab a cookie, chocolate milk and a muffin.
Volunteering in Melbourne doesn’t taste better than this. It is written into most contracts that you are able to leave work to donate blood, so be sure to take advantage of this.
We hope you have been inspired by this volunteering in Melbourne ideas. We would move to hear what you decide on, so be sure to contact us and let us know!
