Happy International Volunteer Day! The theme for International Volunteer Day 2023 is “If Everybody Did” focusing on the power of coming together to make progress and to make a difference. Habitat’s goal has always been to bring people together for a collective cause, for people to support others throughout Australia and overseas. Through our programs we have formed a dedicated, generous and kind community of volunteers, who have been by our side as we have supported almost twenty-five thousand people.
Habitat for Humanity Australia’s mission is to provide a safe and stable place to call home for vulnerable members of our communities – wherever they may be. Without the generous support of our incredible volunteers, we would not be able to reach and support as many people as we do.
So, this International Volunteer Day, let’s raise a toast to our amazing volunteers and the spirit of togetherness that’s making a real difference in communities here in Australia and worldwide.
Here are some volunteer highlights from the past year:
1. We awarded our Habitat Volunteers of the Year!
All our volunteers put in 100% effort when joining a volunteer day. We have some wonderful people who join us time and time again, making it incredibly difficult to award just a few individuals! Our Volunteer of the Year Awards honour some very special people to Habitat and highlights their achievements as Habitat Volunteers. A big congratulations to our Young Volunteer of the Year; Lavinia Song, our Volunteers of the Year; Jan and Greg McKean and our Corporate Volunteers of the Year; Morgans!
2. Our Bushfire Resilience program has made a big impact!
Our Bushfire Resilience teams have completed the 120th property under the BLERF fund – with 90 properties still to be completed. Our Bushfire Resilience Team are confident that by March 2024 Bushfire Resilience will have supported over 200 families prepare for Bushfire season.
3. Our Global Village Program restarted and hit the ground running!
126 volunteers have headed over to South East Asia on seven builds through our Global Village program. This includes both individuals and corporate groups, who have all worked hard to ensure the families they built alongside would have a safe and secure place to call home.
You can learn more about our Global Village from our volunteer Ket
4. Our Brush with Kindness program mobilised thousands of volunteers!
Over the last year we’ve had 1195 volunteers support vulnerable Australians; 366 corporate and 669 community volunteers have donated their time and hard work through our Brush with Kindness program!
5. Habitat has served 24,993 people across Australia and the Asia-Pacific.
Through our many programs we have focused on housing, disaster resilience and response, urban programming, water sanitation and hygiene, with volunteers supporting us for much of this work.
If you’d like to join us in the new year, we have plenty of volunteer opportunities available! We’re expanding our Brush with Kindness program to Newcastle and our Bushfire Resilience will now be operating in both the Hawkesbury Region as well as the Blue Mountains. Global Village is heading to so many exciting places next year too, including Fiji, Indonesia, Nepal, Cambodia and Vietnam.