Volunteer

We are always on the lookout for new volunteers to join Our Village.

Whether you can spare a few hours or you’re ready to make a bigger commitment, you will be making a difference to the lives of babies and children across Victoria.

Our volunteers are the heart and soul of Our Village and we couldn’t do what we do without them. By volunteering with us you are joining a joyous community where people feel like they belong and can have a real impact.

Also, we don’t want to brag, but our morning teas are legendary!

You can volunteer at one of our warehouses, from your own home or with a team from your workplace. However you choose to help out, we can guarantee Our Village is a special place to be.

Our Village is a member of Volunteering Victoria.

Volunteering as an individual

Volunteers are involved in every aspect of our operation – accepting donations, sorting and cleaning items, safety checking nursery equipment, processing orders and administrative and IT tasks. To put it simply, our volunteers make Our Village.

No qualifications are necessary. We make sure all our volunteers receive training for specific tasks. You just need a can-do attitude, an interest in learning new things and a willingness to help babies and children in need.

WHO WILL BE HELPING YOU?

Our Village staff supervise all our volunteers and are on hand every day to provide training, support and advice.

SOME OF THE WAYS YOU MIGHT HELP

Giver

Serving social workers, preparing orders ready for collection, recording information and helping to pack cars/vans etc.

Greeter

Greeting donors, recording information, collecting donations and storing them safely.

Quality Controller

Quality control and sorting donated goods.

Bundler

Making up packs of clothing, linen, toys and books.

Tinker

Cleaning, fixing and safety checking prams, cots, car seats, highchairs, bassinets, bouncers, safety gates.

Pamper Packers

Making up toiletries, nappies and bottle packs, putting together breast pump kits, safety kits and first feeding kits.

Home bundler and sorter

Packing and sorting clothing at home or a workplace.

Staging post volunteer

Accepting donations at your home on behalf of our organisation to deliver to one of our warehouses.

Have questions about volunteering? Please don’t hesitate to email us:
Melbourne warehouse (in Clayton): volunteer.melbourne@ourvillage.org.au
Geelong warehouse: volunteer.geelong@ourvillage.org.au

BACKGROUND CHECKS

We are committed to providing a safe working environment for all volunteers and staff. We are a child safe organisation. We are committed to recruiting dedicated and professional volunteers to represent our organisation.

If you are interested in volunteering, all volunteers over the age of 18 years will need to provide a copy of your current Victorian Working With Children Check (WWCC). You can supply a current Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check (NCCHC) in lieu of a WWCC. If you do not have one you can apply for one here – they are free for volunteers.

We will ask you to sign our Volunteer Agreement after you complete your induction.

We treat all personal information as sensitive and handle it in accordance with privacy laws and as per our privacy policy.

Volunteering with your school

Learn more about our charity and make a real difference.

Our Schools Volunteering Program offers a great opportunity for students to get involved in their community while building their knowledge, skills and confidence. Your students will learn about the essential items needed to care for babies and children in the critical early years and hear about some of the causes of disadvantage that can lead people to seek our help.

Most importantly, they will know they are helping provide critical support to Victoria’s most vulnerable families.

Here are just some of the activities your students may do:

Fixing and cleaning essential items, such as prams, car seats and high chairs. Sorting and packing clothing, toys and books. Preparing special toiletries packs for carers and babies.

HOW TO GET YOUR SCHOOL INVOLVED

Melbourne Warehouse (in Clayton)

$750 (plus GST) per group of 15 students.

School Group Session Times

Monday – Friday (9.30am to 12.30pm)

Get directions

Geelong Warehouse

$500 (plus GST) per group of 15 students.

School Group Session Times
Monday – Friday (9.30am to 11.30am or 12.30pm – 2.30pm)

Get directions

Students must be in Year 9 or above. Maximum 15 students with one teacher to every 10 students. Booking requests to be made by school staff.

We charge a small fee to help cover our costs. This enables us to provide trained staff to guide your students throughout the day, helping them get the most out of their volunteering experience. The rest goes directly to our work to rehome essentials to thousands of babies and children each year.

If you would like more information, to discuss tailoring a volunteering experience to your requirements or to make a booking please email: hello@ourvillage.org.au

Individual Student Volunteering – Geelong Only
If you are a student wishing to volunteer at our Geelong warehouse as an individual to complete hours for a school project then please email: volunteer.geelong@ourvillage.org.au
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