Today commonkind was honoured to speak at the public hearing for the Queensland Parliament’s inquiry into volunteering. The inquiry is investigating how we can continue to improve volunteering rates to increase the capacity of the volunteering sector in Queensland.
Presenting to the Inquiry
commonkind was represented by our Founder, Carolina Puleston, Board Chair Ester Willims CF GAICD, and most importantly, one of our young changemakers, aged just 10, Evie.
Evie is the first child to speak at a parliamentary inquiry in more than 15 years, and true to our commonkind commitment to listen and value the voices of children and young people, we knew her voice needed to be heard.
Growth opportunities for improving volunteering rates
We elaborated on two opportunities from our submission (# 260):
- Increasing adult volunteer rates through family-inclusive volunteering. This approach not only reinvigorates adult volunteering by reducing barriers for busy families to participate – it also creates a ripple effect, cultivating civic responsibility across generations.
- Engaging more children and young people in service learning. This helps serve today’s community needs while growing tomorrow’s volunteer leaders.
We urged the committee to consider compulsory community service for all Queensland school students. We provided a compelling testimonial from the CEO of one of our Charity Partners The Nappy Collective‘s Sarah Witty about the measurable value of commonkind child and youth changemakers’ community service:
“At The Nappy Collective, we rely on volunteers to power our mission—and youth volunteers from commonkind have been a shining example of what’s possible. Their energy, dedication, and willingness to give up their weekend to support over 600 local families has been invaluable. Contributions like this directly increase our capacity, allowing us to support more families in crisis with fewer resources. When young people step up to help other children, it not only lightens the load—it gives us hope for the kind of community we’re building together.”
The power of service learning to increase capacity in the volunteering sector
Imagine if…
EVERY Queensland school student completed just ONE HOUR of meaningful community service each year…
This would yield ~875,000 service hours p.a.,
equal to >400 full-time work years.
This would be a notable capacity builder for the sector in the short term and a significant incubator of adult volunteer talent over the long term.
Listening to children and young people
Finally, we reinforced our argument with Evie’s powerful statement about how her service learning experience with commonkind has fuelled her passion to volunteer. Evie proved that children, even in primary school, have much to offer and should not be dismissed.
Thank you
We are so proud of Evie for her bravery and eloquence representing our community of child and youth changemakers, not only in her statement but also in answering questions posed by the committee. Thank you Evie.
We would also like to thank the committee for their willingness to consider the proven value of child and family community service.
