Trends and Issues

I have worked as a Leader of Volunteer Engagement in Australia for more than 20 years. In 2021, I was given the incredible opportunity to take on the role of Senior Manager of Volunteer Engagement with the Brotherhood of St. Laurence (BSL), a social justice organisation working alongside people experiencing disadvantage to address the fundamental causes of poverty in Australia.

Is a new energy emerging in volunteering?

That’s the belief of the authors of England’s new "Vision for Volunteering." It’s a vision over a year in the making and it sets out a national ambition for where volunteering should be in 2032.

This isn’t the only document seeking to shape the future of volunteering.

As we slowly continue to transition from the pandemic, we are seeing increased and open demonstrations of anger, rudeness and other uncivil behaviours.^[i] These go even further beyond the norm than those we have seen in societies around the world over the last two years^[ii] and certainly beyond what we would typically anticipate experiencing pre-COVID.