As Mayor, I get to see firsthand the greatness here in Mandurah. I see people taking it on themselves, committing so much of their own time and effort, to helping others in our community - and it really is humbling.
I wanted to take this opportunity, during Volunteers Week 2022, to thank all our amazing local volunteers for the time and effort they freely give for the betterment of our community.
Throughout this pandemic, the risk of social isolation and loneliness has certainly been heightened. It has been largely through the efforts of our local volunteers that we have been able to rise to this challenge. Through their awesome work, we have gone a long way to making sure our community remains connected, resilient and strong.
Sadly, throughout this pandemic, volunteering levels across Australia took a real hit. Recent analysis completed by the Australian National University for Volunteering Australia revealed two out of three volunteers (65.9 percent) stopped formal volunteering in 2020 during the early stages of COVID-19.
By May 2021, only just above half (56.4 percent) of volunteers who had stopped volunteering due to COVID-19 had returned.
This reduction has obvious consequences for the people and projects that are benefitting from the compassionate actions of others, but also for the volunteers themselves. The ANU analysis showed that those who had to stop volunteering during COVID-19 had lower life satisfaction than those who were able to continue. Conversely, those who continued volunteering experienced less loneliness.
If you are considering taking up volunteering, or wish to return, go have a chat with the crew at Peel Volunteer Resource Centre who are down at Lakelands Shopping Centre all this week from 10am - 2pm, finishing with a community expo on Friday.
A successful community is one where lives are enriched and valued. Our volunteers do just this and Mandurah is all the greater for having you here.
