Community volunteer opportunities

We are committed to supporting and complementing local volunteer involving organisations and groups who directly support the Darebin community. Together we can create a vibrant volunteering culture across Darebin.

To be considered to list your organisation’s volunteer program, use the button below to access our request form:

Request to list your community volunteering opportunities

Alex Makes Meals

Alex Makes Meals is a charity which makes meals at our kitchen in Preston for people facing food insecurity across Melbourne. The team are devoted to sustainable meal preparation and providing warm, tasty meals for homeless and disadvantaged youth. There are volunteering opportunities available as a delivery driver, kitchen hand or chef, or join the team behind the scenes in marketing, legal, human resources and fundraising.

Phone: 0403 930 479
Email: hr@alexmakesmeals.com
Website: alexmakesmeals.com/volunteer

CERES 3000acres

CERES Olives to Oil is an annual community festival held in May. The festival brings people together to celebrate the importance of local food in our communities, as well as recognising the wonderful heritage of diverse food cultures we enjoy. As part of the event, we encourage people to harvest unused olives from backyard or neighbourhood trees and bring them along as part of the community olive oil pressing. Once pressed into oil, this will be given back to those who contributed. The event relies on passionate volunteers, with a variety of roles, dates and locations available to take part in. Volunteers will support the festival team with creating a fun event to celebrate the olive harvest, accepting olive deliveries and distributing olive oil to participants.

Phone: 03 9389 0100
Email: olivestooil@ceres.org.au
Website: 3000acres.org/get-involved

Darebin Information, Volunteer & Resource Service

The Darebin Information, Volunteer & Resource Service (DIVRS) is a not-for-profit volunteer-driven community organisation, located on High Street in Preston. DIVRS provides a range of volunteer programs, including:

• Gardening - growing food and sharing knowledge
• Food rescue and food packages - picking and packing food
• Deliveries and pickups - gathering supplies and delivering food parcels
• TAC learn to drive - helping young drivers get their P-plates
• Community support - connecting people to information
• Financial help - applying for grants and loans
• Administration - office support

Phone: 03 9480 8200
Email: admin@divrs.org.au
Website: divrs.org.au

EdConnect

EdConnect is a for-purpose organisation connecting volunteers with young people in schools. We recruit, train and support skilled volunteers to provide life-changing mentoring or learning support to students who need extra help and guidance to realise their potential - in school and life. Volunteer as a Mentor Volunteer; working face-to-face with the same student on a weekly basis, or a Learning Support Volunteer; helping students within the classroom environment. Check the Members Schools List at the website below to see which schools are participating in the Darebin area.

Phone: 0498 016 337
Email: northernlo@edconnect.org.au
Website: edconnectaustralia.org.au/volunteer

Friends for Good

Friends for Good, located in Northcote, is a volunteer driven not-for-profit and Australian loneliness pioneer. Are you friendly and enjoy having a chat? We need you! FriendLine is a free phone service for those experiencing loneliness or social isolation. FriendLine operates from 10am to 8pm 7 days a week. Our volunteers don't need any special qualifications, just an interest in talking to a broad range of people. If you can contribute 2 hours per week (or more if you'd like) and have a desire to help people feel more connected, please get in touch.

Phone: 03 9691 6300
Email: admin@friendsforgood.org.au
Website: friendsforgood.org.au/who-we-are/volunteer-with-us

High Street Bells Choir

The High Street Bells Choir, based in Northcote, is an inclusive community of singers, carers, family members and volunteers who come together each week to experience the joy of singing and performing in the community. Our members come from a diverse range of backgrounds and abilities including people with acquired brain injury, people with physical disability and people with mental illness. The choir meets on Monday mornings from 10am to 11.30am. Our volunteers offer friendly, general support to members including:

• assisting with set up and pack up of the rehearsal room
• greeting members as they arrive
• singing with the choir
• handing out percussion instruments
• supporting occasional performances
• assisting with traffic management i.e. as members arrive and depart

Phone: 0474 850 543
Email: highstreetbellschoir@gmail.com
Website: highstreetbellschoir.org.au/get_involved

Inner Northern Local Learning and Employment Network

The Inner Northern Local Learning and Employment Network (INLLEN) is an independent community organisation which builds partnerships and strategies to improve education, training and employment outcomes for young people (16-25 years of age) across Darebin, Merri-bek and Yarra. INLLEN run a range of initiatives and programs, which are supported by volunteers. Volunteering opportunities include:

• Vocational Mentoring Exchange (VME): a pool of volunteers with diverse and wide-ranging working lives and lived experience, help support young people transition to further education, training or employment. An opportunity to directly connect young people with local industry.
• Real Industry Job Interviews (RIJI): a work readiness program that assists students in developing good job search, resume writing and interviewing skills. Volunteers participate in a face-to-face mock interview with students during a RIJI event. The program is delivered in Term 3 as part of the school's curriculum.

Phone: 03 9101 9807
Email: info@inllen.org.au
Website: inllen.org.au/initiatives

LINK Community & Transport

LINK is a not-for-profit community based social enterprise, connecting people with an integrated community of care of volunteers, services, transport, health systems, outings and friendships. Volunteers contribute through the immeasurable value of the commitment of their time, be it one day a fortnight through to three days a week and through small, meaningful interactions. There are many valuable and fulfilling roles including:

• Driver
• Outings helper
• Home helper / carer
• Dog walker
• Companion
• Gardener
• Minor repairs
• Community builders

Phone: 1300 546 528
Email: volunteering@lct.org.au
Website: lct.org.au/volunteering

Melbourne Adult Migrant English Program

Melbourne Polytechnic is recruiting volunteer tutors for the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) Volunteer Tutor Scheme. Volunteering as a tutor gives you the opportunity to:

• Help refugees and migrants learn English and become part of the Australian community
• Meet people from a wide range of backgrounds
• Develop new skills
• Learn about other languages and cultures
• Become part of a dynamic and committed volunteer team

Phone: 03 9269 1514
Email: amepvts@melbournepolytechnic.edu.au
Website: melbourneamep.com.au/volunteer

Nangak Tamboree Wildlife Sanctuary

Nangak Tamboree Wildlife Sanctuary, located on La Trobe University's Bundoora campus, offers volunteer opportunities for local community members in:

• The Nursery - gain exposure to indigenous plant identification and propagation techniques
• Land Management - help maintain the habitat within the sanctuary through revegetation work and invasive species control
• Water Testing - help monitor the health of the sanctuary wetlands
• Education - work with students and engage them in the environment
• Other opportunities - if you have a particular skill or area of interest, the team would love to hear from you

Phone: 03 9479 1206
Email: wildlife@latrobe.edu.au
Website: latrobe.edu.au/wildlife/get-involved

Office of the Public Advocate

Do you want to make a difference in your local community? Community Visitor volunteers perform an important role of upholding the human rights of people living with cognitive disability and/or mental illness. In pairs, Community Visitors visit facilities within their local region and speak with residents and patients to enquire into the services that they are receiving. Training for this role is provided and travel expenses are reimbursed. This is a challenging, yet rewarding volunteer role which is a formal Victorian Governor-in-Council appointment.

Phone: 0418 931 247
Email: communityvisitors@justice.vic.gov.au
Website: publicadvocate.vic.gov.au/opa-volunteers

Social Health Australia's 2023 Kindness Collective

Social Health Australia brings forward innovative approaches to companioning people in crisis and combating the growing problems of social isolation and loneliness. Volunteer Community Companions will be matched with people in the local area who are dealing with a wide variety of adverse circumstances. Volunteers will receive training and take part in reflective sessions to develop their skills as community companions. The aim is that each volunteer will visit their matched community member a minimum of 20 times (either in person, over the phone or online) throughout the program.

Phone: 03 9013 5008
Email: getintouch@socialhealthaustralia.org
Website: socialhealthaustralia.org/kindness-collective

WeCycle

WeCycle, located at Batman Park in Northcote, is a volunteer-driven association that recycles bicycles, supplying them free of charge to people in need, including refugees and asylum seekers across Melbourne who are referred by social care agencies. The team also complete bike checks once a month for people in Darebin, with support of Council. We are a small group of volunteers, and most of our repair sessions take place on Saturdays. Our volunteers don't need any special technical skills, as we are happy to train you in bike maintenance or get your help with other activities, such as delivering bikes to households. Please get in touch if you have a little time to spare on Saturdays and enjoy working with others and assisting us to repair over 180 bikes a year that we are taking out of the waste stream and returning to use.

Phone: 0405 042 022
Email: wecyclemelbourne@gmail.com
Website: wecycle-melbourne.com/join-us

Your Community Health

Your Community Health delivers a wide range of health and wellbeing services across the seven Local Government Areas of northern Melbourne, including Darebin. Volunteers are a valued and important part of the team, offering different skills and experiences to help deliver programs and services to the community. Volunteering with Your Community Health is a great way to be part of the vibrant community, meet new people, learn new skills and give back to the local area.

Phone: 03 8470 111
Email: volunteer@yourch.org.au
Website: yourch.org.au/get-involved/volunteer

Darebin Neighbourhood House Network

Bridge Darebin

Bridge Darebin is an innovative, not-for-profit organisation and certified social enterprise based in Preston and Thornbury. Volunteering at Bridge Darebin is an excellent way to connect with and support the community - an opportunity to use and build on existing skills and learn new ones. Volunteering opportunities include:

• Digital devices and computer support
• Laneway lunches
• Pottery support
• Education support
• Bridge Darebin Green Garden

Phone: 03 9484 5806 (Preston) 03 9480 0466 (Thornbury)
Email: amelia@bridgedarebin.org.au
Website: bridgedarebin.org.au/volunteer

Jika Jika Community Centre

Jika Jika Community Centre, located in Northcote, is run by a small team of dedicated staff and supported by the wonderful people of the community. Jika's vision is to build a more inclusive community and volunteers play a huge part in helping to achieve this, through support, energy and passion. Jika aims to tailor volunteering opportunities to the skills and interests of potential volunteers. Examples of activities volunteers currently support include gardening, sewing and organising activities. Whether you're interested in volunteering in an office, community development or outdoors, the team would love to hear from you.

Phone: 03 9482 5100
Email: office@jikajika.org.au
Website: jikajika.org.au/volunteer

Prace

Prace, located in Reservoir, has 30 years' experience providing innovative and high-quality Adult Community Education (ACE) programs. Volunteers play a vital role in creating a welcoming, supportive and inclusive environment for students to learn in. Prace offers a range of classroom-based volunteering opportunities where volunteers work closely with teachers, to help meet individual needs of the adult learners. Volunteer roles support:

• English as an Additional Language (EAL)
• Computer classes
• Spelling, reading and writing
• Inclusion programs

Phone: 03 9462 6077
Email: volunteers@prace.vic.edu.au
Website: prace.vic.edu.au/volunteers

Span Community House Inc

Span Community House is a dynamic hub of community, learning, assistance, support and sustainability, in the heart of Thornbury, providing community development opportunities. Volunteers play an integral part in many of Span programs and operations. Volunteers bring their vibrancy, skills and open mindedness to support our diverse community. Volunteer opportunities range from weekly, to ongoing, to occasional. Examples of just some of the activities and programs that are run with the help of volunteers include:

• Art for all abilities
• Cooking with confidence
• Reception/ administration
• Digital literacy
• Family carers activities

Phone: 03 9480 1364
Email: programs@spanhouse.org
Website: spanhouse.org/get-involved/volunteering-span

Local friends groups

Friends of Darebin Creek

The Friends of Darebin Creek facilitate a variety of environmental community events in both Bundoora and Reservoir. The group was formed in 1995 to protect, restore and conserve the Darebin Creek and its adjacent parklands, as a natural environment for the enjoyment of the community.

Phone: 03 9499 4454
Email: friendsofdarebincreek@gmail.com
Website: friendsofdarebincreek.org.au

Friends of Edgars Creek

The Friends of Edgars Creek offer a variety of environmental community events in Reservoir. The vision of the group is the ongoing management and enhancement of Edgars Creek, between Edwardes Lake and its confluence with Merri Creek.

Email: edgarscreek@gmail.com
Website: foec.org.au

Friends of Merri on Parade

Located along the Parade between Ross and Walker Street in Northcote, the Friends of Merri on Parade are a community environmental group who hold regular activities, including the removal of exotic weeds, re-vegetation of native, indigenous plants and litter collection.

Phone: 0466 517 993
Email: carolynlunt@internode.on.net
Website: carolynlunt.com.au/revegetation.html

Friends of Regent Community Garden

A community garden located in the rear of The Regent Centre in Reservoir. The group is run by community for community and hold regular workshops and activities, including a monthly food swap. Regular gardening sessions are held on Sundays from 1pm to 4pm and activities include gardening, watering, promotion, tidying, composting and helping to organise events and workshops.

Phone: 0423 296 394
Email: friendsofregent@gmail.com
Website: darebinfoodharvestnetwork.org.au

Louise's Apple Tree Community Garden

Louise's Apple Tree Community Garden is located at 125 Herbert Street, Northcote. The group is run by community volunteers who hold regular activities to maintain the gardens.

Email: eglef@iinet.net.au
Website: darebinfoodharvestnetwork.org.au

More information

Volunteer Programs Officer
Phone: 03 8470 8715
Email: volunteering@darebin.vic.gov.au