Australian volunteers are essential to society and many charities would struggle to survive without them – but the benefits don’t only flow one-way. Here are a few interesting points about volunteers from the Council of the Ageing (COTA):
- Of the 600,000 Not-For-Profit organisations in Australia, only 60,000 have paid staff
- Volunteers annually contribute $200 Billion to the Australian economy
- The numbers of volunteers in Australia has doubled from 3.2 Million in 1995 to 6.1 Million in 2010
- The rate of volunteering by young people in Australia has increased from 16% in 1995 to 27% in 2010
- Volunteers are happier, healthier, live longer and sleep better than those who don’t volunteer.
So…what are you waiting for?