Leaving your mark on DISABILITY

Volunteering

The value of volunteers can not be measured in words. Volunteers play a vital and much valued role in the disability sector. In fact, a lot of the programs that function to assist people with disability, their carers and older people; involve the gracious and hard work of a volunteer.

Volunteering in the disability sector is a way to effect positive change; through the sacrifice of time you are given the opportunity to undertake a labour of love. And the rewards given from these experiences are ever lasting; they are carried on the very footsteps that you take through life's journey. Becoming a volunteer is a very selfless act, and an act that often fills a small empty space the heart of others, although small this space is permanent.

I have volunteered for numerous organisations, using my skills to assist in the ways that I thought were best for me. In some ways I felt a certain grain of selfishness in the positive emotive outcome of my experiences. I also gained an irreversible change in myself, as my life took new directions with new possibilities.

You may volunteer in the disability and aged sector in any manner, whether it be as a carer, at a disability organisation, as an advocate for disability and the rights of people with disability, as a volunteer for disability events and activities, or simply by volunteering a moment to assist an older person or person with disability with their groceries. Volunteering your time is simple and the rewards are plenty:

• You can leave footsteps on another’s heart, something that will never be forgotten;

• You can become more involved with the community, in particularly the disability community;

• You can meet new people and make new life-long friends;

• You can support children and young people with disability, older people, their families and the organisations that support them;

• You can gain new skills, knowledge and understanding;

• You can feel rewarded and appreciated;

• You can develop life skills;

• You can experience unique opportunities;

• You can develop a lifetime of special memories; and

• You can have fun doing it!

The personal sacrifice of time in your day is small when considering the rewards listed. Perhaps it is time for us to reward ourselves by supporting others!

Alyssa