Hawthorn Arts Centre was bursting at the seams with potential volunteers last week at the Boroondara Volunteer Expo. More than 450 people attended – almost doubling the number at last year’s event.

Former AFL footballer Eddie Betts was interviewed by our Mayor, Cr Sophie Torney, about his volunteer work. He spoke about the impact of giving back through the Eddie Betts Foundation, which empowers Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people through sport and education. Eddie inspired attendees to consider how they can create lasting change in the community through volunteering.

Attendees met seeing eye dog puppies, got hands-on with St John’s Ambulance resuscitation dummies and took part in ‘micro-volunteering’ activities. A session on volunteering as a path to paid employment was also well attended.

If you missed the expo there are still plenty of interesting volunteering opportunities available through our online portal including:  

• event support
• social support visitors 
• drivers  
• tutors
• and op shop assistants.

You can find details of these volunteer roles and many more by visiting our volunteer portal.

Boroondara has the highest volunteering rate in metropolitan Melbourne, with 18% of our residents doing some form of voluntary work during the year.

In the last 2 decades the Boroondara Volunteer Resource Centre has connected around 25,000 people with volunteer roles.