Tamworth National Volunteer Week: RU Volunteering has plenty of opportunities on offer for volunteers

It's National Volunteer Week, and here at the Leader we'll be sharing the stories of the unsung heroes that make Tamworth go 'round.

The outbreak of COVID-19 highlighted how crucial volunteers are to the community, RU Volunteering volunteer services coordinator Eleze Drew said.

"We certainly need volunteers, a lot of them are in the senior bracket and we want to have succession planning from younger people who can give up some time to give something back," she said.

"If someone is starting out on a new career path, volunteering is a great way to be exposed to a range of skills and career options, plus it looks great on a resume."

Last year volunteering locally took a bit of a hit with the pandemic, but in 2019, an RU Volunteering survey showed more than 60,000 hours of volunteering were donated across 41 organisations.

If a price tag was put on it, it would be close to $2.5 million.

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Volunteering is also a great way for people who are new to town to make connections and build a network, or for seniors to stay active and remain involved in the community.

There are plenty of jobs that need doing just within Tamworth Regional Council run assets, including at the art gallery, library services, marsupial park or Tamworth Powerstation Museum, Ms Drew said.

"A lot of volunteer services like Salvos or Meals on Wheels would not be able to provide the depth of service they have without volunteers," she said.

RU Volunteering will hold a volunteer expo on Thursday, May 20 from 4pm to 6pm at 25 Fitzroy Street, where members of the community can meet with organisations to talk about opportunities.

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