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National Volunteer Week: in full swing

Volunteer Joshua Teng monitors Twitter at the Melbourne launch of Oxfam's GROW campaign. Photo: Lara McKinley/OxfamAUS

You’ve heard what our volunteers think about volunteering at Oxfam; now some of Oxfam’s key people pay tribute to our volunteers!

Andrew Hewett, Executive Director

Oxfam wouldn’t be Oxfam without volunteers … volunteers are essential to the spirit of Oxfam. We believe that it’s through people working together that social change happens. And it’s people regardless of whether they’re paid staff or volunteers…helping make Oxfam an even more effective force for social justice and for ensuring that volunteerism remains central to Oxfam’s ethos.

Carrie Fletcher, National Events Coordinator

Volunteers played a critical role in the success of Comedy Gala and Christmas Trees. From answering queries and being the bright smiley faces of Oxfam to taking donations over the phone or at the venue. The enthusiasm and passion for Oxfam never ceases to amaze and impress me. Both directly and indirectly volunteers help us achieve amazing fundraising results, and 2011/12 has been a stellar year.

Antonella Magnavacca, Supporter Services Team Leader

On behalf of the Supporter Services teams, I’d like to say a BIG THANKS for the incredible support you have given us! Your diligence, care and commitment to Oxfam is an inspiration. We enjoy you all being here and thank you for the amazing tasks you do — so much more than ever before!

Tamsin Loy, Trailwalker Melbourne Coordinator

Oxfam Trailwalker Melbourne 2012 has just happened and was one of the best yet. This wouldn’t have happened without the huge amount of help behind the scenes from a very able team of volunteers with so many different things – from packing 3000 bibs, to processing oodles of forms, to shifting countless tubs and locking over 1000 event volunteers into shifts. For this and all the smiles you’ve given us – a huge thank you!

Tom Widdup, National Close the Gap Campaign Coordinator

The words ‘power through partnership’ were both the theme of the 2012 National Close the Gap Day, and an apt analogy for everything the day has become. This year over 120,000 people around the country came together in more than 800 events to make this the biggest event in the six-year history of the Close the Gap campaign.

Coordinating a project like National Close the Gap Day, growing the participation, servicing the needs of the participants; none of this would happen without volunteers.

During NCTGD fulfillment, 15–20 volunteers came into the Melbourne office each week, packing registration packs for each of the 848 events. They also fulfilled around 700 merchandise orders during the NCTGD period. Thanks again to our incredible volunteers!

In Australia, more than 6 million people volunteer in some capacity. Every year, they contribute more than 700 million hours of community service, and make a huge difference to so many areas of society. Interested in becoming a volunteer with Oxfam? Read all about it.