Finding ways to be part of the village

by OLIVE AUMANN
6th July 2026

WARRANDYTE’S long tradition of stepping up for one another is entering a new chapter, with local organisations joining forces to make volunteering easier, more welcoming, and more accessible for everyone.
Many community groups across Warrandyte, schools, sporting clubs, environmental groups, arts organisations, neighbourhood houses, service clubs, and emergency services have all been feeling similar pressures in recent years: fewer volunteers and increasing reliance on the same group of dedicated people.
To help address this, the newly formed Warrandyte Volunteer Alliance (WaVA) has brought together 25 of those local community organisations to explore a coordinated, community-wide approach to volunteering.
At the heart of this work is the idea of a central Warrandyte Volunteer Register, a simple way for residents to express interest in hearing about volunteer opportunities without any obligation or expectation that they need to sign up.
The register will be designed to make it easy for people to check out volunteering in small, manageable ways that fit their interests and availability.
The need for this initiative has become increasingly clear.
Many local groups are stretched thin, while many residents say they would volunteer if opportunities were more visible or felt more flexible.
The campaign aims to bridge that gap by making opportunities more available and easier to connect to through supporting groups to reach new people in a coordinated way.
The WaVA Working Group will meet shortly to finalise the campaign plan, with the intention of launching the Volunteer Register and the broader campaign soon after.
The group is committed to ensuring the approach reflects the diversity and strengths of Warrandyte’s volunteer community and supports both long-standing organisations and new volunteers alike.
The hope is that the campaign will spark a renewed wave of community involvement and one that honours Warrandyte’s long-held spirit of pitching in and looking out for our community.