Volunteer in Sydney: 7 Ways to Give Back This Christmas

After a long year, the Christmas season has finally arrived. For most of us, December offers an opportunity to let down our hair and spend time with our nearest and dearest. But for a lot of people, the festive season can be quite challenging.  

That’s why there are charity organisations who help those less fortunate by donating food, gifts and toys. Whereas others help by giving anyone experiencing homelessness or social isolation a place to be. 

If you’d like to help spread the love this festive season, here are 7 charity organisations seeking volunteers or Christmas donations. Every little bit counts. 

Orange Sky  

Orange Sky helps ease the burden on anyone experiencing homeless or financial hardship by providing free laundry services, along with connection and non-judgemental conversation. By donating to the organisation, you can help provide clean laundry for a friend doing it tough this Christmas. Or you can help ease the load by becoming an Orange Sky volunteer – learn more about volunteering here. 

Meals on Wheels 

Meals on Wheels delivers healthy, nutritious meals to old and young people with disabilities, and to their carers. Volunteers offer up their services all-year-round – whether it’s helping to prepare and cook the food in the kitchens or deliver meals in their cars. Whichever you’d prefer to help with, Meals on Wheels will be grateful with a few extra pairs of hands over Christmas. Learn more about volunteering here. 

The Sydney Basket Brigade 

Run by the Magic Moments Foundation, The Sydney Basket Brigade is a dedicated group of volunteers that pack and deliver baskets of food and other goods to families in need. Every year, the organisation relies on volunteers to help round up the donated goods and get them to the people that need them. The details of this year’s packing days are still yet to be determined. If you’d like to help out, check back in on this page or follow The Sydney Basket Brigade on Facebook for updates. 

The Smith Family 

Every Christmas in a gesture of goodwill, The Smith Family pack and send off a selection of adorable gift hampers filled to the brim with books and toys, to over 25,000 disadvantaged children all over Australia, as part of its Book & Toy appeal. There are a number of ways you can help, from volunteering as a driver to donating gifts or fundraising. Learn more about how you can help here. 

Wayside Chapel 

Wayside Chapel has been providing love, care and support for people doing it tough in central Sydney for over 50 years. Every year, the organisation throws a free Christmas lunch for anyone experiencing homelessness or social isolation at its Potts Point and Bondi Beach locations. You can ‘donate a plate’ here and purchase a meal for one, two, four, 10 or 20 people. Everybody deserves a warm meal and a place to be at Christmas. 

OzHarvest 

If you want to give back but are strapped for time, why not donate some dollars instead? OzHarvest is a great anti-food waste charity that rescues surplus food – that would otherwise be sent to the landfill – and delivers to over 1300 charities supporting people in need all over the country. This year, OzHarvest has teamed up with Woolworths and set the ambitious goal of providing seven million meals to Australians in need this Christmas. Contributions can be as small as 50c or rounding up your grocery bill at the self-checkout – every little bit counts. Donate here. 

OzHarvest can be found in most major cities around Australia, including Sydney. You can register to volunteer over the festive season here. 

The Salvation Army 

Spreading the love all over Australia, The Salvation Army helps around 70,000 Aussie households each year, making sure a sprinkle of Christmas spirit is delivered to those who need it most. Sign up to wrap presents, pack hampers or deliver toys, or you can simply donate unwanted clothes or non-perishable foods if you don’t have time to volunteer. 

For a full list of volunteer opportunities, click here.  

Ready to embrace the Christmas spirit? Once you’ve sourced a Christmas tree, check out the best light displays that Sydney has to offer. After that, we highly recommend working your way through the best Christmas movies of all time.