Doing something for nothing can make you feel like a million bucks. Which is probably why three in 10 people in Australia are volunteers (including me).

This week is National Volunteer Week (15-21 May) and it’s worth knowing that volunteering pays dividends that aren’t monetary. It gives you a sense of satisfaction and the technical term, “warm fuzzies”.

This year’s volunteer week theme is “The Change Makers”, so we scouted around for some interesting volunteer positions and found this fascinating job description: “cat socialiser”.

It hardly sounds like work but it is absolutely crucial, according to cat socilaliser Emma-Louise Ward.

For the past five years, Emma-Louise has been voluntarily patting cats at the RSPCA ACT shelter for two hours each week.

“It got me through Covid lockdown,” Emma-Louise says. “This is my weekly therapy; I don’t need counselling, I just sit and talk to the cat and that’s my happy place.”

On a serious note, cat socialising is vital to prepare the cats for their forever homes.

“If we don’t do the socialising, they won’t get adopted,” Emma-Louise explains. “We touch them all over their body, that’s one of the things we have to do. We see if we can touch their paws, their tail, to see what their limits are because whatever we do it’s preparing them for their forever home. We’ve got to read the cage cards; we’ve got to read their temperament. Sometimes we’re asked to focus on a cat that’s timid, been neglected or abused, they just need some love.”

Emma-Louise admits that the volunteer hours are a “pleasure, not work” and if she can do a second shift, she puts her hand up. “It’s also my time to give something back, being a good world citizen.”

In 2019, almost 5.9 million people participated in voluntary work through an organisation. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, during a 12-month period, volunteers contributed an estimated 596.2 million hours to the community.

National Volunteer Week recognises the vital support that the millions of volunteers in Australia provide to their communities and encourages people to consider volunteering:  https://www.volunteeringact.org.au/volunteers/find-an-opportunity/?reload

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