Boroondara revealed as Melbourne’s volunteer capital

This leafy inner eastern LGA has been revealed as Melbourne’s volunteer capital, with nearly one in five people giving up their time to serve their community. Check how benevolent your area is.

East Kew FC has a cohort of young volunteers who help out every weekend during the season. Picture: East Kew FC

If volunteers are the lifeblood of a community then one municipality from Melbourne’s leafy northeast is pulsating, with nearly one in five locals putting in unpaid hours.

Data from Torrens University revealed the City of Boroondara had more than 26,200 volunteers — the highest in metropolitan Melbourne and the second most in Victoria behind Geelong.

Casey, Whitehorse and Mornington made up the rest of the top five, all having more than 20,000 volunteers in their respective councils.

Boroondara — which according to the latest census had a population of 167,900 — also had the highest rate of volunteers in Melbourne, with 18.6 per cent of residents aged over 15 volunteering at a local group.

The next best metro councils were Bayside (17.4 per cent) and Nillumbik (16.9 per cent), while the top 28 councils with the highest rate of volunteers were all regional or rural.

Balwyn Rotary Club volunteer Angela Ciliberto said Boroondara had a “real focus on community needs”.

“Many groups do a lot of good work for the local community and we take a lot of pride in that,” she said.

Balwyn Rotary has 45 members, with the group often volunteering at events like the Box Hill miniature trains. Picture: Facebook

Balwyn Rotary runs projects like the Camberwell Market, as well as helping out at the Box Hill miniature railway — which hosts an annual event for disabled children every November.

The municipality is also home to hundreds of sporting clubs — including 24 cricket clubs, 20 Aussie Rules clubs, 13 soccer clubs — where thousands of volunteers put in unpaid hours.

Among the younger brigade of Boroondara volunteers is Luca Fiorini, 23, who along with his mates — all aged in their mid-20s — help run East Kew Football Club.

Boroondara has thousands of volunteers across its many sporting clubs that put in unpaid hours. Picture: East Kew FC

Mr Fiorini — the club’s president — said contributing to a club in his local community was “incredibly fulfilling”.

“You don’t realise how rewarding being part of a broader community is until you participate in it and see it all play out

“It brings people together for that common purpose that’s bigger than just yourself.

“It’s great being out there and making new friends and meeting people from all walks on life and bringing joy to people in the community, which I think it’s something often forgotten about these days.

“Being a part of something bigger than ourselves is what we really enjoy.”

The West Wimmera region had the highest rate of locals in Victoria aged over 15 volunteer, at nearly 34 per cent — followed by Buloke, Yarriambiack, Hindmarsh and Queenscliffe.

The content summaries were created with the assistance of AI technology, then edited and approved for publication by an editor.