This year the theme is “Give a little. Change a lot”, and whether it is holding a stopwatch on the sideline of a sporting match, transporting people in need to doctors appointments or even responding to natural disasters or emergencies volunteering touches all aspects of Australian life.

Locally GoCo are in desperate need of some more volunteers to join their service, and Community Transport Coordinator Tammy Lumby would like to see some of the younger generations put up their hands, with the benefits going both ways.

The organisation not only provides transport for people all over the North West, they also provide a range of invaluable social services, from as simple as taking people out for a doctors appointment, a cup of coffee or shopping, to organising and accompanying people on trips, such as last year’s trips to Sydney and a recent outing to the Hunter Valley Gardens.

“Those services are really important to people, and we just couldn’t run them without our volunteers,” Ms Lumby said.

“The service would not run at all without them, so they are really appreciated.” 

Currently the Gunnedah GoCo has 26 volunteers on their books, although ideally would like to have at least twice that amount, and are very flexible in hours and commitment, with volunteers able to commit to as little as one hour a week.

This year there has been a push nationwide to recruit more young people into volunteer roles, with many employers suggesting volunteer work on a person’s CV is highly valuable, while several other skills can also be acquired.

“It would be nice to get some young people on board,” Ms Lumby said.

“We would be happy to put some younger people on and then be used as a referee for future jobs.” 

‘We also offer and pay for First Aid and Mental Health First Aid Training, as well as medical checks and working with children checks that can all help with future employment.” 

In the Parkes electorate there are more than 27,000 volunteers.