Your guide to volunteering on the Gold Coast
Going to work and paying taxes aren’t the only ways you can be a good Gold Coast citizen. If you’re itching for other ways to learn new skills, be of service to others, and build a deep sense of personal fulfillment, volunteering is a fantastic way to achieve all this.
For city locals, students, retirees, or anyone else who yearns to give back to their Gold Coast community: we’d love to have you. Let’s get you started on the road to making a difference.
Top organizations to volunteer with in Gold Coast
If you’d like some specific ideas for volunteering opportunities in Gold Coast non-profits and local charities, here are a few suggestions:
1. Gold Coast Hospital Foundation
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Website: https://gchfoundation.org.au/
Address: 1 Hospital Boulevard Southport
Contact details: (07) 5594 6986
Operating hours: Monday – Friday: 8:30 am – 4:30 pm
Gold Coast Hospital Foundation is an official charity and local community organisation that raises funds to support sick people who need help.
The Foundation networks and coordinates with sponsors and donors — other organisations, corporate entities, and even generous individuals — to secure financial support for patients suffering both medical and financial distress.
Funds go towards patient transport, accommodation, and hospital facilities and equipment, to name a few. Volunteers for fundraising and event assistance, administrative tasks, and marketplace support are more than welcome.
2. Ronald McDonald House
– Media credit: rmhcseq
Website: https://rmhcseq.org.au/
Address: 22 Garrick Terrace, Herston, Brisbane
Contact details: +61 7 3257 0328
Ronald McDonald House Charities in Queensland aims to assist sick or injured children and their families, via scholarships, accommodation, or just providing a place to rest for a while.
The charity recognizes that full recovery can take a long time, so they aim to provide support during this period.
You can do your part with house roles such as facilitating kids’ clubs and breakfast clubs, teaching gardening, cooking and baking classes, or driving. Alternatively, try your hand at specialty roles like hairdressing, yoga instruction, or learning-and-development facilitation.
Ronald McDonald House Charities treats volunteers well: you’ll have access to your own L&D opportunities, support, conferences, and specialised training.
3. Sea Shepherd
– Media credit: goldcoastseashepherd
Website: https://www.seashepherd.org.au/
Address: 2 Ann Street, Williamstown, Victoria 3016
Contact details: +61 1300 623 267
Operating hours: Monday – Friday: 8:30 am – 4:30 pm
Sea Shepherd Australia is an international non-profit conservation movement that focuses on ocean protection. The organisation works with established law enforcement agencies to do its work which, as you’ll learn, is not for the faint of heart.
Sea Shepherd Australia uses a direct-action approach, which means they go further than starting petitions or rallying people for street marches. Instead, they actually go out on the seas to physically block illegal poachers, confiscate unauthorised fishing gear, and more.
In extreme cases, they’ve resorted to ramming sea vessels in order to halt the latter’s illegal maritime activities. However, Sea Shepherd is extremely careful about never causing direct harm or injury to anyone.
This particular volunteer opportunity will require steady nerves and a strong will, so be sure you’re up to the task before applying. If you’d like to help out in less direct ways, Sea Shepherd Australia also accepts donations, and hosts events and educational talks.
4. TAFE Queensland
– Media credit: ajstoker
Website: https://tafeqld.edu.au/
Contact details: 1300 308 233
Operating hours:
- Monday – Tuesday: 8:30 am – 4:30 pm
- Wednesday: 9:30 am – 4:30 pm
- Thursday: 8:30 am – 4:30 pm
- Friday: 8:30 am – 4:00 pm
The Technical And Further Education training organisation is a training provider present all over Queensland, including Gold Coast. It provides training programs for clients in tons of different fields: hospitality, restaurants, personal care, art galleries, gyms, and more.
TAFE is usually on the lookout for volunteer tutors. In this role, you’ll help migrant adults improve their English language skills, making it much easier for them to integrate into life in Australia.
You won’t need any experience to start volunteering at TAFE, and they’ll provide free training to get you started. Once that’s done, you’ll be matched with students. All you need to bring is enthusiasm, diligence, and drive.
Expect to gain lots of experience interacting with people from all backgrounds and walks of life; you’re sure to learn plenty of people skills by volunteering as a tutor.
Types of volunteering opportunities on the Gold Coast
Community services
This type of community volunteering provides direct support for Gold Coast citizens via some kind of face-to-face support service.
Some of these roles can feel like having a regular job, such as retail assistant or food preparation worker. But there are “intangible” roles as well, like community visitor and companionship support.
Environment and conservation
If you love the environment or prefer working in close proximity to nature, try out these volunteer roles. You could work in park maintenance, coastal or beach clean-up, or plant restoration.
Animal welfare
If you love nature but lean more towards fauna than flora, try your hand at animal welfare volunteering: shelter assistance, dog walking, or even wildlife rescue support if you want something more daring (and meet the qualifications).
Education and tutoring
If you’d like to work closely with young people or adults looking to level up their skills, education and tutoring volunteer work are available to you. Share and pass on your skills as a math or science whiz, literacy coach, digital skills instructor, or other types of youth support worker.
Health and wellbeing
Do you feel fulfilled by helping people become healthier, comforting the sick, or guiding others towards better mental health? Health and wellness volunteering may just be your calling.
You can start as a hospital assistant, mental health companion, or another physical or mental health volunteer.
Sport and recreation
If you’re a bit of an adrenaline or endorphin junkie and you’d like to get others hooked as well, go for sports and recreation volunteering.
You can become a sports coach or coaching assistant, help at a sportsfest or similar event, work as a fitness instructor for senior citizens, and more.
How to choose the right volunteer opportunity on the Gold Coast
Choosing a specific volunteer path based on your interests is a great start; you’ll do much more good if you’re genuinely passionate about the role. However, you’ll need to take a few other factors into account if you want to maximize any suitable opportunities.
Besides your interest level in the volunteer activity, here are some considerations:
Skills and knowledge
You can start some opportunities without any specialised skills or knowledge, but this isn’t always the case. Other volunteer roles might require hard skills like academic proficiency, baseline medical knowledge, computer skills, or even soft skills like mediation and psychology.
For example, if you have experience and confidence driving a 10-seater van (plus a current driver’s license and clean record), you can volunteer as a bus driver for Anglicare Southern Queensland.
You’ll be driving elderly people to events and activities for 4 hours per week. Additional training will be available.
Alternatively, if you have computer skills, try being a “website magician” for Kind Cuts for Kids, an organisation dedicated to providing healthcare for children in developing countries. The organisation needs volunteers to maintain and update their website.
Time availability
Before choosing a volunteer role, you need to have a good sense of how much time you’ll be able to devote, as well as how much the role will require from you.
Align these two aspects carefully before you start; otherwise, your volunteering might become too draining and may start to feel like a full-time job (unpaid, to boot).
For example, you may be interested in volunteering as a Women’s Group Assistant for Multicultural Families Organisation Inc. in Southport.
This is a great way to give back to the community, but be aware that they’ll require up to 4 hours of work every Wednesday for 6 months or longer. This is a substantial time commitment over a long period, especially if you have a full-time job to think about as well.
Personal goals
Volunteering is about giving, but take some time to think about what you want to gain from it.
Do you want to gain some experience working with young or elderly people? Get a feel for what it’s like to work in a classroom or hospital environment?
Find out whether you prefer urban or rural life? Figuring out your personal goals will go a long way toward making the most out of your time as a volunteer.
Getting started: Steps to begin volunteering on the Gold Coast
Step 1: Identify your interests
The ancient Greeks urged each person to “know thyself,” and that remains good advice to this day. Take an afternoon or evening to sit and reflect on yourself. What causes are you passionate about?
Next, think about what you’ve seen and experienced so far in the Gold Coast. Think about what you noticed the last time you took a walk around the city, or the last time you talked with a local friend or acquaintance about the improvements they wish they could see.
Then, consider how you could help make these a reality.
What needs does the local community seem to have? What skills do you have that you can share, and which others would be eager to learn? What do you love doing so much that you’d do it for free? Let the answers guide you towards your first — or next — volunteer opportunity.
Step 2: Search for opportunities
Once you know what you like and how you can be of service, it’s time to go out and look for opportunities. A simple Google search for local volunteer opportunities can be enough to get started, but here are a few other leads to get you started:
- GoVolunteer: A non-profit initiative to help you quickly find opportunities. Filter by volunteering type, location, and cause.
- Volunteering Gold Coast: A Gold Coast-specific organisation that connects and supports volunteers and the not-for-profits that need them. It includes various opportunities, an events calendar, transportation support, a donation page, and more.
- Gold Coast government volunteerism: The official volunteerism page of the Gold Coast local government. Work directly with them in roles like citizen science and beach cleanup; or explore opportunities with the government’s partner organisations.
Step 3: Submit an application
The specifics of the volunteer application depend on the organisation you’ll be working with, but you’ll typically start by filling in an online form with your personal and contact information.
Note that your information may be shared among several volunteer organisations until one of them clicks with you.
Eventually, one or more organisations will reach out to you and schedule an interview. This is done to evaluate how well you fit their team’s needs and vision. They may perform a background check on you as well, so be sure you’re okay with this before applying anywhere.
Step 4: Complete training if required
Remember that some roles may have specialised training requirements to ensure that volunteers will be both safe and effective in their roles.
You may want to obtain some training before you begin applying; some volunteer organisations may also offer to provide training before you begin with them.
For example, the Gold Coast Sporting Hall of Fame is looking for volunteer curators for its sport-centric museum. To give them a leg up, volunteers will receive training from experienced curators at a local university.
Or if you’re ready for something more intense (and you love the water), volunteer as a First Aider at Surf Lifesaving Queensland. You’ll receive full training for the role, and can even earn a nationally-recognised First Aid and CPR qualification on the job.
Making the most of your volunteering experience on the Gold Coast
Volunteering doesn’t necessarily require the same time or scheduling commitments as a paid full-time job. However, it still pays off to bring your full dedication and conscientiousness to the experience.
We’ve put together a few reminders to keep in mind for any role you sign up for.
Applying these volunteering tips can make the difference between just clocking in your hours and truly making an impact in your chosen cause.
Be punctual
You might not be punching in a time card, but you’ve still made a promise to show up and be of service. Stay on top of basic professional behavior by coming in on time and ready to work.
This shows that you’re taking the role seriously, are really passionate about the cause, and that you’re a dependable person in general.
Maintain constant and clear communication with others
For-profit companies and not-for-profit organisations have one thing in common: they work best when everyone is on the same page. Communicate clearly and often with your managers, coordinators, and other volunteers.
This not only helps you stay as effective as possible, but it also alerts you in case there’s anything you need to change or adjust.
Look for opportunities to be proactive
Keeping to yourself and quietly doing your work might seem tempting at times (especially if the work is a little intimidating or you’re naturally introverted), but you’re leaving a lot on the table if you stick to this.
Show your passion and dedication by asking questions and learning the processes thoroughly.
Talk to your managers and co-volunteers, do everything with energy and enthusiasm, and be eager to take on new responsibilities if they’re suggested to you.
You can also see volunteering as a stepping stone to becoming more active as a citizen of the Gold Coast. It’s a great way to meet other civic-minded Gold Coast residents.
You can learn more about the city’s history, its needs and development opportunities, politics, and more. The better you understand the city, the bigger your opportunity to give back to the community effectively.
Never stop learning
Volunteering is a two-way street. You are there to be of service, but it’s also a golden opportunity for you to learn new skills, network, get a feel for what it’s like to work with different kinds of people, and so much more.
You might even find that you begin to know the Gold Coast more deeply through your volunteerism: how people in the city do things, what people love, and how to best make an impact now and in the long term.
Embrace it all. Knowing the Gold Coast more intimately, and becoming a more learned and skilled person in general, aren’t just good for the organisation at which you’re volunteering — they also open doors and opportunities for you down the line.
In short, they’re good for your future.