Two weeks ago I was totally engrossed in the Folk Festival in our town. The festival is in its 51st year and functions predominantly on the assistance of volunteers. I did several shifts in the office where I sold merchandise and tickets as well as billetting one of the visiting artists. It is a great way to be involved.

On the topic of volunteering I would like to share something I heard recently. Every so often you hear or read something that takes you completely by surprise. That was the case last week when someone said:

‘Volunteering is the ultimate act of optimism’.

I was caught completely off-guard and was amazed at how that statement resonated.

It begs the question of ‘Why do we volunteer?’

In general, I believe that most of us volunteer because we believe that we can make a difference or make things better. Not for ourselves but for others. It might be people, animals or places but underneath all volunteering lies an inherent belief and desire to improve and enrich. In order to do this we must naturally be optimistic.

I volunteer in various capacities with a couple of different organisations in our small town and at times it is easy to become a bit disillusioned when you feel that progress is slow or stalled. Hearing that statement reminded me of why I volunteer, refreshed my optimism and confirmed that I can have a positive impact.

There are no shortages of opportunities to volunteer. Here are some of the things I have done recently.

Organised and co-hosted a Trivia Night to fundraise for the local Neighbourhood Centre.

Helped with the set-up of our local monthly market.

I volunteer in the office of the Neighbourhood Centre once a week, am secretary of the lcoal film society and am on the committee of the state Federation of Film Societies.

Tomorrow we are headed to an Information Day for the Federation in a town which is a couple of hours from home. It should be a fun and informative day connecting with people from other Film Societies. I have been tasked with running a short workshop on selecting and programming films so I have all the necessary information and resources ready.

I hope your weekend and week ahead are productive for you whatever you may be doing.