Volunteer Services

Change your world..................start now!!

You can change your world by volunteering. Volunteering can offer many benefits, you can:

  • Meet new people
  • Give something back
  • Help others
  • Learn new skills
  • Try out a possible career
  • Build a network of contacts
  • Meet new challenges
  • Feel useful
  • Gain recognition
  • Build self confidence
  • Empower others
  • Gain work experience
  • Be a role model
  • Re-enter society
  • Be active and involved
  • Have fun!

BBCRI offers a variety of volunteering possibilities that may interest you. Currently, over 130 volunteers assist to provide vital services to residents living in the Shoalhaven. Including:

  • Driving the community bus
  • Providing companionship and assistance to older people
  • Assisting with providing out of school hours care activities and vacation care to school aged children
  • Radio announcing and technical duties
  • Provide mentoring opportunities
  • Support activities for youth in the local community
  • Administration duties that support BBCRI services
  • Management Committee members
  • Assistance with social groups, social outings and in-home respite to older people.
All volunteers are supported by a Volunteer Coordinator. Their main job is to recruit, orientate, train and support volunteers in their roles at BBCRI. Further, recognising and acknowledging volunteers for their contributions to the community through BBCRI is essential. This includes celebrating International Volunteers Day and National Volunteer Week and other recognition activities throughout the year.

This service provides innovative, time limited, in-home respite support for carers/families who are caring for a frail older person, a person with dementia and/or people with a disability.

The service provides one on one respite in the home by fully qualified paid staff and volunteers for those who meet the Home and Community Care (HACC) and service criteria. Hours of respite will be determined at the time of the referral.

Carers will be offered a flexible time-limited package of service.

We can also assist with information and support, referrals to other services for ongoing support needs, access to a carer support group and assistance in finding further support services in the carer's local area.

A small hourly fee is charged.

For more information, please contact Winifred at the Sanctuary Point Road Office. 

Field Staff Assisting Care recipients in their homes

Home and Community Care Volunteers

Questions to consider before your volunteer interview with BBCRI or other organisations.

Why do you want to volunteer? What are your goals? Do you want to learn a skill, pursue a hobby, work for a cause you believe in, give back to an organisation that has helped you or a loved one in the past, to establish a routine in your life following retirement or recuperation from illness, or become acquainted with your neighbours if you have recently moved ot the area.

What do you want to do? Volunteering is about choice, about choosing how to spend your time. Sometimes a volunteer uses skills developed over a lifetime, but some want to do something different as a volunteer. For example, you may be a retired bookkeeper but want to work with elderly people or children. Think of or make a list of the skills you want to use as a volunteer. If you think you don't have any particular skills, it is likely you are wrong. Can you listen and talk to people, can you assist to give a child a meal, and can you hold someone's hand, and more. You probably can.

Where do you want to volunteer? What type of service do you want to work for? How far do you want to travel? Do you believe in the cause that BBCRI or other organisations represents? If you've identified BBCRI as the organisation, but we don't have the type of volunteer work you want, tell us about it anyway. There could be a job you are looking for coming up in the future, or we can assist you to find alternatives somewhere else.

At the interview. We will interview you, but you must also interview us. Do we have the type of work you want? What skills do you need? Is training available? Who is your supervisor? Are you insured? Is there re-imbursement for out of pocket expenses? Is it a pleasant working environment?

Think about yourself - are you in a position to be reliable, arrive on time and to make a commitment of time and energy to do volunteer work? Is now the right time for you to start, or do you have a lot of things going on in your life which might make it difficult for you to volunteer on a regular basis? Also, take into account any limitations there may be in relation to your physical or psychological fitness when considering what you would like to do as a volunteer. It's always a good idea to start off with a small regular commitment, and build up your volunteer role as you adjust to the new activity level.