Volunteering at Wesley Mission
Spare some time to make a difference in other’s lives by volunteering.
Wednesday 5 December marks International Volunteer Day, a day introduced by the United Nations General Assembly in 1985 to remember and appreciate the dedicated work volunteers do worldwide.
Volunteering takes on many forms for Wesley Mission – whether driving residents of our retirement homes and aged care facilities to the shops or special events, teaching people living with disability to paint, providing food and a sympathetic ear to the homeless or running a stall at Wesley Fair, each and every volunteer plays their part in making the world a better place.
Our volunteers are the lifeblood of our organisation, and if it wasn’t for them, many of our services simply wouldn’t exist.
There are a range of volunteer programs that are run by dedicated individuals, who spend their spare time making a difference in others’ lives:
Volunteers regularly visit and spend quality time with residents in retirement homes and aged care facilities. For the residents, this time is greatly appreciated during what can be a challenging and lonely stage of their lives.
Hundreds of adult volunteers mentor children from disadvantaged backgrounds providing guidance, time and love needed to help give them a better start to life. With regular meetings, the mentoring relationship lasts a minimum of three years with many volunteers extending their support well past that period. For some mentors, they go on to mentor several children and remain active volunteers for well over a decade.
Volunteers in Wesley School for Seniors give their time to run classes for seniors, from barn dancing to language classes, these classes provide a new lease on their lives in a supportive and sociable environment.
For the thousands of people who call Lifeline day or night, the trained volunteer at the end of the line provides and understanding and sympathetic ear that can literally save lives. These volunteers are a great example of the enormous dedication and importance that all volunteers play in our community.
We’d like to call on everyone to give thanks to all the volunteers in their lives. Make a point of thanking them today and acknowledging them for the great work that they do. While International Volunteer Day is the day across the world dedicated to thanking our volunteers, let’s not leave it a year before we thank them again.
Happy International Volunteer Day and thank you to all our volunteers!
To learn about our volunteer opportunities, and how you can get involved, contact Wesley Mission to discuss how you can make a difference today.