Volunteers

A volunteer on a sleepbus dedicated to vulnerable Sunshine Coast women and children says a night of rest can help people make better decisions.

Nancy Mullarvey treasures the time she spends with "wonderful" high school students at her Swan Hill aged care home. Their time together is part of a volunteer program with benefits for all involved.

Jaimen Hudson has helped bring international recognition to beaches near Esperance. But the local filmmaker, who lives with quadriplegia, struggles to access one of its most iconic stretches of coastline.

Know how to bait a hook and sweep a line? In regional Victoria, teenagers want mentors to teach them how to do it.

A 75-year-old lifelong volunteer firefighter who died while battling a bushfire burning in the New South Wales north-west has been remembered as a "committed life member" of the Rural Fire Service. 

Close to 200 vehicles used by Victoria's volunteer firefighting organisation are more than 30 years old, leaving some rural brigade leaders worried about the safety of their teams heading into summer.

Cupcakes, chats "solving the problems of the world", and refurbishing bikes for those in need are all in a day's work for this team of volunteers.

Pasifika people are generous people – their commitment to serving and supporting others is central to their identities. But that generosity comes at a cost.

When state government funding for the upkeep of South Australia's only RSL cemetery ran out earlier this year, Port Lincoln's sub-branch took matters into its own hands.

A huge number of locals turn up to help a family finish its harvest in regional Western Australia following the unexpected death of Midwest farmer Darryl "Jack" Burton.

With his 14-year-old dog Zaba in his arms, "Buddy" McDonald Dodd quietly surveys the ruins of the house he dashed from as flames from the Tara bushfires came through the back door. But the 27-year RFS veteran is determined to rebuild in the community he loves.

A beach clean-up crew, and the writer of the note, discourages the use of plastic containers after a message in a bottle is found after a four-month, 400-kilometre journey.

With millions of articles, Wikipedia is a hub for many things, and that includes regional WA. Meet the dedicated WA hobbyists who commit their time to the free online encyclopedia.

As the cost of living increases, a free breakfast run by volunteers is playing an increasingly important role in people's lives.

Little was known about the 3,000 mysterious contributors to the first edition of the Oxford dictionary. Then a former editor made a fascinating discovery.

Queensland wildlife volunteers say young birds that are not sick or injured, but have been found on the ground while learning to fly, are being "rescued" unnecessarily.

When residents called on this Victorian council to keep providing in-home aged care services, it listened, despite recent federal reforms that have led other local governments to withdraw from the sector.

The competition in Stawell is one of the few opportunities the first responders have to practice vital skills before a real emergency arises.

Country firefighters in WA are considering quitting over battles with bureaucracy and a funding rejection, according to a volunteer association.

Residents of fire-ravaged Deepwater in central Queensland are preparing to return to their homes to survey the damage for themselves.

Outreach workers Ada Watson and Ayden McMahon are at the coalface of the homelessness crisis, watching over rough sleepers and working to help the desperate and the vulnerable.

Two century-old mine trucks or "skips" are given new life as volunteers rally to restore a public monument in a town home to Australia's oldest operating mine.

When Jimmy Thomson's wife Roslyn died last year, he was distraught. Her love of native flowers was something he couldn't shake, so he continued her weekly tradition of making and donating native floral bouquets.

When the waters rise in Wangaratta, this beloved cartoon landmark has served as an unofficial flood gauge for more than four decades.

Fellow crew members tried to help a volunteer firefighter with a defibrillator until ambulance officers arrived but the man died in what RFS Commissioner Rob Rogers says was the "ultimate sacrifice".