Celebrating our change makers – National Volunteer Week 2023

In National Volunteer Week, we celebrate the impact of all the generous volunteers of the Asylum Seekers Centre.

In the FY22 year, 477 volunteers contributed 32,704 hours of their time to our community. With the very conservative valuation of each of these hours at $25 per hour, that is a whopping $1.5 million worth of kindness and skills.

The impact of volunteering goes way beyond the number of hours or people who participate in the ASC’s volunteer program. Volunteers are often the people who welcome the people we support to the centre and our activities, take the time to listen and form strong relationships.

What stays with people who we support is these warm relationships and the information shared by a local person as we welcome new people to our community.

This week we took a moment to recognise the contribution of our volunteers and celebrate with them the great gift that they offer of their time and expertise.

“Though people come here for help, they never feel that they’re receiving charity. They feel that their dignity is recognised. They feel that they’re seen as people. Because you, the volunteers, see the human in them. And it’s the receptionists at the front door that start that process … and the volunteers that coach people into work and unlock the opportunity of university training… and that help people navigate the health system.” – Peter Waters, Chair of the ASC Board

We welcome new volunteers to get in touch and find out more about how you can also be part of the ASC team.