Give Time

M.A.D. Woman(Making A Difference!) is an organisation run by a woman who is anything but mad, in fact she is an inspiration. Among a million other things, she and her team run singles events where you can make a difference and meet likeminded other singles. What a gorgeous idea!

Youngcare is an organisation that aims to help young people with high care needs get out of aged care facilities, and really, could there be anything worse than being a young person living in an old age home? You may have heard Bernhard Fanning talk about it, as he’s their number one fan and does a lot of fundraising on their behalf, and of course, fundraisers need volunteers!

What about good old Meals on Wheels? It is still going strong and Australia’s aging population ensures this brilliant service will be needed long into the future.  You don’t need your own car as there are a number of volunteer roles within the organization and varying levels of time commitment required.  Obviously for many recipients the visit is as important as the meal, so this is a really special opportunity to positively effect someone else’s life.

Why not make up your own mind about refugees by actually meeting some? Nutty idea, I know, but if you’re interested the Refugee Council of Australia is the place for you. Imagine landing in a new country with little or no knowledge of the language or culture.  There are lots of ways you could donate some time to helping refugees with everything from conversational English to tips on dealing with the Post Office.

Of course the RSPCA is always looking for animal lovers to help out around the place.  My brother Pete volunteers. Here’s what he reckons;

I volunteer at the Noosa RSPCA every second Sunday. I get there around 7:30 and usually spend my time cleaning out dog enclosures. Typacially there are 5 or 6 seperaret enclosures that need to be hosed out, disnfected and have their blankets and toys changed.

Once I finish this, I take a few dogs for a walk and I’m all done. It usually only takes about 2 hours.

They always make sure I’m working with dogs who are used to plenty of human contact and never vicious or difficult to work around, and everyone there makes sure you get any help you need and they make it really easy. They were also really flexible in finding a regular day that worked for me and them.

I was also an RSPCA foster mum for a while.  Many animals arrive unable to be adopted out immediately for a number of reasons, so they are fostered out to private homes both to make room for others (cutting down on the need for the dreaded destruction of animals) and also to help them socialize with humans and other animals.

OP Shops!

Still my favourite places to shop, Oppies need people to staff them, (and cast an eye over the best gear!)

Conservation

Meet like-minded individuals and do more than your bit for Australia’s environment.

Fire Fighting

Pretty full on this one, but obviously very rewarding for the right type of person.

I can give!