Volunteering SA & NT: Impact & Innovation

0:00It's March 22nd. Adelaide News today starts now. AI powered and ready. Hamilton Calder, CEO of volunteering SA and NT, grew up helping neighbors in his Western suburbs community, which sparked his lifelong passion for. Pitching in, today nearly a million South Austroians volunteer, making up over 63% of the population and logging 223 million. Hours yearly at an average of 4.5 hours per person each week, that effort pumps $36.1 billion into the state's economy and social fabric, powering big events like the Fringe Festival, Foodie. Matches, Walmart, and the Royal Adelaide Show. Volunteers deliver emergency aid, food relief, and support in regional areas, while also gaining personal perks like longer healthier lives and stronger connections to fight loneliness. Volunteering builds real skills for young people, boosting job prospects, and informal help is surging, especially among 252, 39-year-olds,

1:02who want quick, flexible ways to contribute. Recent data shows formal volunteering dipping below pre-pandemic levels due to time and cost squeezes, but people still crave involvement, just on. Their terms, like one-off shifts or group efforts with family, Adelaide steps up big time next year, hosting the 2026 National Volunteering Conference from June 16th to 18th, themed around. Innovation and impact rethink how we volunteer for a changing world.