27/07/2023
The author of “War and Peace “ Leo Tolstoy said one
“Everyone thinks of changing the world , but no one thinks of changing himself “
The best way to change the world for the better is to
take personal responsibility and make the effort to change ourselves as well as making an effort to help others.
Not waiting for the government,
Not waiting for someone else to help us,
but trying ourselves to make the world a better place for ourselves as well as others.
Besides the lack of personal accountability, there is another
alarming trend that's occurring in Australia, the US and around the world.
In 2013, 65% of people in the United States volunteered.
in 2021. That number had dropped to 56%.
In Australia, it's even more alarming.
In 2010, approximately 36% of Australians engaged in formal volunteering.
By 2019 that number had dropped to about 29%.
What's happening?
Well, Stanford University did a study and found that there are three main reasons people say they're not volunteering.
They are:
1) They don't have enough time, and that volunteer organizations are not flexible enough with their schedules.
2 They don't have enough information about volunteering and volunteering roles just seem uninteresting.
3) Most shockingly is, no one asked them to.
Let's talk about stereotypes.
Hopefully l, this won't get me in too much trouble.
The stereotype and perception of a lot of volunteer organizations is that they are old people trying to get into heaven.
But that seems pretty far from the truth, in the United States and the numbers are very, very similar in Australia ; there are more men volunteering than women.
In Australia, 36% Of all people between 40 and 54 are volunteers
But in the age group, 15 to 24 and 55 to 64. That number is only 29%.
So it's not that they're too busy.
Between the ages of 40 to 54.
They've got a career.
They've got children,
They've got a mortgage.
They've got a lot going on.
It’s worth noting that themost common reason why people in Australia say that they decide to volunteer is social contact.
Furthermore , the most common reason why people in Australia volunteer is…..
wait for it.
They know someone who's doing it and guess what?
They were asked to do it.
To that end I had on my radio show “Change the World with Matt McQuinley “ Radio Italia Uno Stephany Martin
President of the lightsview rotary club Rotary Club of Adelaide Inc. who was a finalist in the South Australian channel 9 Young Achievers Awards in 2018,
Young Citizen of the Year for Campbelltown Council in 2018,
and South Australian Young Citizen of the Year, issued by the Australian Day Council in 2018
to discuss issues facing volunteer organisations today , how someone can make a difference , and the benefits of being a volunteer .
Click the link below if you missed it
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4JAlfRRJKahze9o7UVOTTr?si=wNgwvuauQB2DYZSm-t9j9w
