Get involved and make a difference
Aslan Shand
Creating the threads that hold our communities together don’t just come from working and living in a place – they come from getting involved, and being active members of our communities. From 18 to 24 May it is Volunteer Week and it is important to recognise why being a volunteer brings so much to individuals, groups, and communities.
This years theme ‘Your Year to Volunteer’ reminds people how important it is to create the time, even in our busy lives, to volunteer.
For some people volunteering is a way to meet people in their communities if they are new to an area. For some it has been a lifelong commitment to giving back, for others it is how they come together to help look after their local communities in times of need like fires or floods through the Rural Fire Service (RFS) and State Emergency Service (SES). It can be helping to keep the local netball or football clubs going, or organising teddy bears’ picnics. For others it is a way to help people in need through our local community centres, op shops, and food hubs that help people when they are in family, financial, or housing stress. It can be giving time to dedicated projects that aim to assist particular groups in our society. It can just be a few hours here and there helping out at the school uniform shop, or tuckshop. Volunteering not only helps get things happening in our communities, it is an amazing way to learn skills, connect with people, and build our communities into the places we want to be, live, and have fun – it helps make all our lives better.
‘National Volunteer Week 2026 celebrates the commitment of current volunteers and invites everyone to discover how giving their time and talents can spark joy, and a deep sense of purpose,’ say National Volunteers organisers.
2026 is also the UN International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development which is highlighting the vital role volunteers have, and continue to play, in advancing a sustainable future.
‘Let’s acknowledge the vital role of volunteers as change-makers,’ said Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Amina Mohammed.
‘Their commitment shapes a world where sustainable development is not merely a goal but a shared reality we create together.’
Whether you just have an hour or two every few months, or you have more time to give, take the opportunity to find out what it is you are interested in supporting. It could be something close to home, or on the world stage – give it your time to make it work for you, your friends, and your communities.
Brunswick Mullum Lions Club | The Community Transport Company | Bangalow Lions Club | Mullumbimby & District Neighborhood Centre | Byron Community Centre | Northern Rivers Animal Services | Byron Bay Scout Group | Brunswick Valley Landcare | Reforest Now | Women Up North | Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital | Marine Rescue Cape Byron
Brunswick Mullum Lions Club
Are you interested in making your local community a better place to live? Are you interested in helping to support research aimed at preventing cervical cancer, prostate cancer and a whole range of apparently curable childhood cancers? Would you like to assist young people from around the Pacific and Australia with severe facial deformities be operated on so they can lead normal lives? Are you interested in helping to bring down our road toll?
Can you cook a sausage on a BBQ? If you answered ‘YES’ to any of these questions, then the Brunswick Mullumbimby Lions Club is looking for you.
If you would like to be a part of an organisation that makes a difference locally and globally, every day, call now on 0400 484 419, and come along to a meeting.
Thanking the volunteers of The Community Transport Company
National Volunteers Week is a chance to celebrate the extraordinary people who quietly keep our communities connected every single day. At The Community Transport Company our volunteers are much more than drivers and bus attendants, they are friendly faces, trusted companions and helping hands for people who may otherwise feel isolated or unable to access essential services.
Whether it’s a trip to a medical appointment, the supermarket or a social outing, our volunteers make a real difference in the lives of our passengers every day. We thank each and every one of them for their kindness, generosity and community spirit. If you see one of our volunteers out and about this week, say thank you, they deserve it.
To join our volunteer team, call 1300 875 895 or visit communitytransport.net.au.
Bangalownians please come forward and volunteer – 2479 needs you!
During Volunteer Week 2026, Bangalow Lions Club is asking locals to please come forward and volunteer to assist at the many community events, fundraisers and charity functions. Did you know that Bangalow Lions Club hosts, or is involved in, the following community events:
• Bangalow BillyCart Derby
• Bangalow Jazz Festival
• Bangalow Show
• Bangalow Xmas Eve Carnival
Many other smaller events at the A&I Hall or Showgrounds in 2479
Please consider volunteering to help bump-in, bump-out, serve on the bar or BBQ, act as a team member supporting an events or perhaps even consider joining the Bangalow Lions Club. They’re a fun, busy not-for-profit club with all funds raised going to worthy causes in 2479 and beyond. All welcome - men and women, boys and girls.
Contact President John Singh on 0418 662 781 or email [email protected]
Mullumbimby & District Neighborhood Centre – An opportunity to help
If you enjoy engaging with people, have a yearning to connect with others, are interested in learning, building skills, experience, or an opportunity to improve employability. We just might be the place for you! Perhaps work experience in our mini-supermarket, or a taste of working in community could lead to a whole new possibility pathway.
Everyone has something valuable to contribute: cooking, driving, admin, data collection, teaching others digital skills, barista, gardening, fundraising, technology, an expert hugger and making someone’s day a little brighter. Social activities - you may want to join a group or run a group. A place to share your wonderful skills and bring people together.
You might even want to contribute a tax-deductible donation.
Registered tax-free donations for 2025-26 financial year, if paid before 30 June 2026.
www.mdnc.org.au
@mullumbimbyneighbourhoodcentre
Byron Community Centre
This National Volunteer Week (18–24 May), Byron Community Centre is celebrating the 275 volunteers who help power Byron Theatre, Byron Markets and Fletcher Street Cottage. As the organisation marks 45 years in 2026, volunteers continue to play a vital role across community services, events, reception, marketing, gardens, maintenance and behind-the-scenes operations. ‘Our volunteers are the heart of Byron Community Centre,’ said Volunteer Coordinator Cathy Levins-Byres. ‘Their care, energy and generosity make everything we do possible.’ Interested in getting involved?
Visit byronvolunteers.com.
Northern Rivers Animal Services
Make a real difference – volunteer with Northern Rivers Animal Services. Whether at the op shop, shelter, office, or as a foster carer, your time helps save lives and support vulnerable cats and dogs. Join a passionate team creating lasting impact in your community.
Visit www.nras.org.au, call 6681 1860 weekdays, or email [email protected] to get involved today.
Ready to make an impact – 1st Byron Scout Group
Byron Bay Scout Group is buzzing with energy and they need awesome volunteers of any age, any background, and with any skills, to keep the adventure going. Whether you’re great with tools, creative with crafts, love the outdoors, cooking, mentoring, or simply bringing positive energy, there’s a place for you. No experience needed, just enthusiasm.
If you can spare around three hours a week, you can help young people grow, explore, and discover their potential. Join them and be part of something fun and meaningful.
Contact Sam at [email protected]
https://1st-byron-bay.group.scoutsnsw.com.au
Give back to the Byron Shire and volunteer with Brunswick Valley Landcare
Our small catchment sits within the third most biodiverse region in Australia, and it needs your help. Brunswick Valley Landcare is a grassroots, membership-based organisation dedicated to protecting and restoring this phenomenal natural heritage.
Get involved as a volunteer through locality group working bees, tree plantings, events or citizen science. Gain skills in bush regeneration and sustainable land management, meet passionate locals, and make a real difference for threatened wildlife and ecosystems.
Register at brunswickvalleylandcare.org.au or call 0421 244 640 and get in touch today.
Reforest Now
At Reforest Now their goal is restoring the Big Scrub. With local landholders, councils and landcare groups they specialise in repairing and maintaining riparian areas and planting excess farming land back into rainforest.
If you are a landowner who needs help regenerating or restoring your land, or if you want to get stuck in and help volunteer, please contact them!
[email protected]
0491 164 911
Behind the scenes, changing lives – a message from Women Up North
May is Domestic and Family Violence Awareness Month, and at Women Up North we pause to reflect, acknowledge and thank our community. Women Up North is a Northern Rivers-based domestic and family violence specialist service, proudly established in the 1980s by volunteers. From the head office in Lismore, they supported more than 900 women and children last year. While frontline services are often visible, much of this life-saving work is made possible by people working quietly behind the scenes.
‘We acknowledge the 58 people who have lost their lives to domestic and family violence, and we honour the strength of those who have survived. We extend our deepest thanks to volunteers, students, donors, community members, workers and people with lived experience who give their time, skills and care. Through administration, fundraising, transport, governance, outreach, advocacy and community events – and by supporting friends and loved ones – you help ensure safety, dignity and support when it’s needed most. Your work may not always be seen, but it is deeply felt. Thank you for being part of care that changes lives.’ Jillian Knight-Smith, CEO.
www.wunh.org.au
In an emergency call 000
24/7 DV Line 1800RESPECT – 1800 737 732
Support your local wildlife hospital
For over five years, Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital has been giving Northern Rivers wildlife a second chance. Now we need caring volunteers to help us continue.
Become part of our vital volunteer team:
• Hospital Support
• Reception Support
• Raptor Centre
• Ambulance Drivers
• Event Volunteers
Based in Lennox Head.
Call Annette: 1300 WILDLIFE or apply online: www.byronbaywildlifehospital.org.
Marine Rescue now recruiting
Marine Rescue Cape Byron is a marine radio base located within the beautiful Cape Byron lighthouse precinct, in Byron Bay.
A long-serving team of dedicated volunteers maintain a radio safety watch over all boaters within the Byron waters region, working closely with their Marine Rescue colleagues in Ballina and Brunswick Heads to ensure that when the call goes out from a vessel in distress, they provide the rescue boat with all the detail they need to ensure a safe result.
Training and uniforms are provided cost-free, with the added opportunity to develop your skills in the marine and emergency response service spheres.
If you are interested in joining as a volunteer, follow the link mrnsw.com.au/join.
