About a third of the population 7-million Australians do some sort of volunteer work nearly 1 million of them are from South Australia. All spending some of their time volunteering for not-for-profits or community and other organisations. Those who don't volunteer often cite a lack of time as the biggest factor but there's another significant barrier is stopping many people getting involved.
Category
đŸ“º
TVTranscript
00:00For more than 40 years, Dulcie Bogue has been playing her part at Adelaide's Hutt Street
00:08Centre to help those without a home.
00:10It's just the atmosphere here. I just feel very at home.
00:16The 89-year-old has given a lot but says the benefits of her decades of volunteering flow
00:21both ways.
00:22I've just gained so much from being here.
00:26Dulcie is one of more than 950,000 South Australians who volunteer and their combined
00:31efforts are estimated to be worth $36 billion to the state.
00:35The benefits of volunteering are outlined in a new report which also identifies barriers.
00:41One of these is people saying they don't know how to get involved.
00:45We also know that often people just don't know where to start.
00:48Volunteering organisations say there are plenty of opportunities out there for people to contribute
00:53But more needs to be done to help steer those interested in the right direction.
00:57We need to listen to each other and we need to work together to ensure that we break down
01:02as many barriers as we can.
01:04Other barriers preventing people from volunteering include lack of time, lack of confidence and
01:09health reasons.
01:10For those who do volunteer, their primary motivations were helping others, social connections
01:16and personal enjoyment.
01:18In the small town of Hanley Bridge, north of Adelaide, 17-year-old Erin Pycroft has
01:23been pulling on her uniform for six years, volunteering for the local CFS, and says the
01:28benefits to her are significant.
01:30It makes me feel really good, like knowing that I can help people just for nothing.
01:36So yeah, it makes me feel good.
01:38A passion she's sure will continue for a lifetime.