Volunteers – worth their weight in gold

The world renowned efforts of Australia’s growing band of volunteers were honoured again today when Federal Minister for Community Services, Larry Anthony officially released the new one dollar coin celebrating the International Year of Volunteers (IYV).

“It is fitting that the IYV symbol feature on the latest $1 coin because of the extraordinary contribution volunteers made both to our economy and the lives of all Australians.

“The contribution that volunteers make to the community is massive. They give an estimated 700 million hours a year of their own time to help others.

“The Coalition Government is proud to be involved in this year of celebrating the contribution of people volunteering across the world. We have provided over $14 million to communities Australia-wide in grants, sponsorship and events to celebrate the year.

“We recently announced $5 million IYV Small Equipment Grants Program that will help volunteer organisations to buy equipment proving to be very popular. Applications for this program closed last Monday and we have been overwhelmed with 17,000 applications.

“As we move into the final few months of the International Year of Volunteers, one of the most noticeable legacies is that more and more Australians are motivated to volunteer in their local community.

“Paying tribute to volunteers on the new coin is well-earned recognition for the contributions of the country’s 4.3 million volunteers who give selflessly and have made Australia a place we are all proud of,” Mr Anthony said.