ECHO Community Services was started by a group of committed local volunteers in 1982, and volunteers continue to be vital to our ability to care for the people in the community.  Our volunteers perform a variety of services but the core of their contribution is the relationships they form with ECHO clients. We always welcome new volunteers.  The time you choose to give to volunteering is entirely up to you.  It could be from a couple of hours a week, to a couple of days or more.  It all depends on what suits your lifestyle and our clients’ needs. Some of the ways you can volunteer are:

Social support/shopping

Help ECHO clients by taking them shopping or spending time with them.  Visit our clients and provide them with some much needed company. Reading the news to a client, chatting over a cup of tea or talking about family and friends are all enjoyable and practical ways to provide extremely valuable social support.

Transport (cars)

ECHO has a number of cars that volunteers use to take clients to hospital and doctors appointments, visiting loved ones in residential care, shopping or just out for a coffee and a chat.  A volunteer may, on the odd occasion, be required to use their own car. However, we reimburse any out of pocket expenses. If you would like to know more, click here.

Transport (buses)

You may enjoy driving our clients on one of our 12-seater buses to and from our centre for morning tea, or out for lunch to one of the many scenic spots around Perth.  A “C” class licence is required for this type of volunteering and driver training is provided.

Assistant bus helper

You might prefer to help out on our bus going on outings as an assistant during the journey.  Our volunteers can assist the clients on the bus trip and will enjoy some lovely company in the process! Volunteers direct the driver when picking up clients, call at the clients’ home, ensure all booked clients are present, and assist with the return journey. You become one of ECHO’s friendly faces that our clients look forward to seeing each week.

Functions/office assistance

We are always looking for volunteers who have good computer and administration skills to assist us in the office, including a lovely phone manner to help answer and make phone calls to our clients. If you have a good grasp of Word and Excel and are savvy with email and technology in general, we would love to hear from you!

If you are interested in these roles or would like to find out about volunteering opportunities throughout the year, please contact Lucinda at Volunteer.coordinator@echocommunity.org.au or our office on 9271 7011.