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13 Ways to Volunteer & Give Back in Melbourne
Whether you are wanting to donate your time, money or goods, here are the ways you can give back in Melbourne.
Wanting to give back to the community, but unsure of where to start? Well, look no further because we’ve got some great ways you can help, with no experience or special skills required. Whether you can only spare an hour here and there or have a few hours to give every week, there’s a cause out there that would love your help.
Here are 13 ways to volunteer in Melbourne and give back to your community.
SisterWorks
Providing training, education and support for women from refugee, migrant and asylum-seeker backgrounds, Sisterworks is a Melbourne-based, not-for-profit social enterprise. Through work and entrepreneurship, their mission is to support women who now call Australia home and improve their confidence, mental well-being, sense of belonging and economic outlook. The ultimate goal is an Australia where all migrant women are given the opportunities to become economically empowered.
Sitchu Tip: Pay a visit to their Crafted Culture Cafe in Richmond, at 102A Bridge Road. SisterWorks’ latest social enterprise makes doing your bit as simple as stopping in for coffee and conversation.
Get involved any way you can here.
Sacred Heart Op Shops
Love all things retail and volunteering? There’s no better charity in Melbourne for you to spend your time at than helping out at one of the Sacred Heart Op Shops. It’s a flexible way to integrate something rewarding into your lifestyle while developing useful skills, such as managing money, providing customer service, and connecting with people in your community.
Sacred Heart (as well as many other opportunity shops) rely on the support and kindness of volunteers to stay running throughout the week. All donations received go towards alleviating and preventing homelessness, poverty, and social isolation.
Multiple branches throughout Melbourne, get started here.
Help Attend to the Animals at the RSPCA or Lost Dogs’ Home
What better way to make a positive difference in the world than by helping a furry friend in need? The RSPCA and Lost Dogs’ Home are often on the lookout for new volunteers to help care for their animals. Tasks include feeding, walking the dogs and giving the cats lots of cuddles to ensure they stay active, socialised and ready for their new homes. This charity work is a whole lot of fun, you’ll never want to leave!
After Volunteering in Melbourne, You May be Interested in…
12 Women’s Charities That Deserve Your Support in 2025
20 Free Things to Do in Melbourne When You’re on a Budget
Get Involved in Connor’s Run
Connor’s Run is the main fundraising event for the Robert Connor Dawes (RCD) Foundation, founded in 2013 in loving memory of its namesake. This fun run supports brain projects in the areas of research, care and development, funding science to end brain cancer and supporting patients through treatment.
The Connor’s Run event spans 18.8km from Hampton Beach to Alexandra Gardens – the same track Connor once ran in preparation for a rowing season, and coincidentally, the length of his life. The second run length is 9.6km, from Catani Gardens, St Kilda, to Alexandra Gardens, representing Connor’s birthday, 9th June.
Celebrate your post-run achievement with DJs, bands, yoga & fun activations at the finish line. Invite your friends to cheer you on! Whether you join in September, create your own vibe (you can Run Your Way from anywhere in the world), run, walk, roll, hop, skip, jump or dance as much as you want during September, as you will be bringing awareness to paediatric brain cancer and raising funds for the RCD Foundation.
HoMie
HoMie stands for Homelessness of Melbourne Incorporated Enterprise. It’s a not-for-profit supporting young people affected by homelessness or hardship, to better equip them with skills, confidence and experience to be work-ready and prepared for their future. HoMie’s range of tees, hoodies, tracksuits, shorts, caps, mugs, socks and more is one of the best shopping decisions you can make – no buyer’s regret here!
Their flagship Brunswick Street store is a base for HoMie’s two social impact programs – VIP Days and the HoMie Pathway Alliance Program, as well as where they showcase their latest designs and releases across all seasons. From one monogram tee to year-round releases, and two solid social impact programs that have supported over 3,700 young people to date, it’s fair to say the HoMie team’s evolution over the years is making a big impact on the Melbourne community.
Donate or shop the Homie collection here
2/296 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy
Become a Mentor With Adult Multicultural Education Services (AMES)
When you volunteer with AMES, you’ll be helping newly arrived migrants and refugees settle into life in Victoria. Whether it’s by teaching English, providing career mentorship, assisting with bills and public transport or connecting them with community and social groups, you’ll be making a huge difference in their settlement success. It’s an immensely productive and gratifying way of spending your time, and who knows – you might even make a friend for life.
The Social Studio
Part educator, part retailer, part production house and all about people, The Social Studio is a volunteer charity in Melbourne that uses fashion and creativity to create work and learning opportunities for the city’s refugee and new migrant communities.
The Social Studio relies heavily on community involvement and donations, whether you’re shopping at their retail store, working with their ethical clothing production studio or donating money, materials or professional services. 100% of what goes into The Social Studio is invested right back into their free education and employment programs for migrant and refugee youth.
6/30 Perry Street, Collingwood Yards, Upper Ground Courtyard, Collingwood
Share Groceries With Your Local Pantry
Got surplus groceries? Share the love with your neighbourhood by donating both perishable and non-perishable (e.g. tinned food, dried pasta) to your local pantry. If you haven’t seen one before, these take the form of shelves or cupboards located in a public place, filled with donated goods. They operate on a good will, take-what-you-need basis and can be a big help for those experiencing food insecurity. Examples include the Albert Street Community Cupboard in Brunswick and Reservoir Community Pantry, but do a quick Google search and you’ll find one near you.
Mind Australia
A mental health and wellbeing organisation volunteer charity in Melbourne, Mind recruits a fleet of volunteers to provide recovery-focused support to more than 11,000 people a year. Volunteers cover everything from one-on-one social support to information for carers, and work with the helpline service.
Donate to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre
ASRC supports refugees and asylum seekers, who often have no income or government support and are reliant on organisations for food, shelter and medical care. Help them do their great work by donating money, food and material goods, or employ them for your next big catering or cleaning job. This way, ASRC can train and create job opportunities for people seeking asylum, helping them gain confidence, Australian work experience and financial independence.
Our Village
St Kilda Mums, Geelong Mums and Eureka Mums have joined forces to create a wonderful volunteer charity, Our Village, that envisions a future where we share more, waste less and care for every child. They work specifically to rehome quality nursery and baby items, bundling them into packages for new mums who need them the most. Aside from donating your pre-loved items, Our Village needs volunteers to help with every aspect of their operation, from accepting, sorting, cleaning, processing, packing and safety checking these items, to administrative and IT tasks.
Volunteer here.
Give Blood with LifeBlood
Blood donations are greatly needed at all times of the year. Unfortunately, blood can’t be stockpiled, and fresh blood and plasma products are needed every day to support cancer patients, new mums and babies, people with immune deficiencies or blood diseases, and people who need surgery. Blood donation is considered an essential health service that is quick, easy and safe – and all those snacks at the end don’t hurt either.
It’s an easy way to give back to those in need through a volunteer charity in Melbourne, and doesn’t take up much time during your day.
Find your nearest donation centre here.
Hold a Food Drive for the Foodbank
Aid hunger in Australia by holding a food drive in support of Foodbank, Australia’s largest food relief organisation. Each year, they distribute tens of millions of meals across the country, and there are a myriad of ways you can help. Monetary donations are always needed, with every $1 raised providing two meals to someone in need. Alternatively, rally your family and friends to collect goods for their Yarraville warehouse – canned food, long-life milk and juice, coffee and tea, biscuits and toiletries are always in demand.
We’ve found more ways to do your part. Support these female-focused charities, and help the planet by shopping second-hand and from local farmers’ markets. There are so many ways to give back and volunteer in Melbourne, and do more for the world (yourself included).
