Bellambi surf lifesaving club is bucking the trend of a national downturn in volunteering.
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The century-old surf club was facing closure 12 months ago. Not only had volunteer numbers dwindled but the club had just 16 active members.
COVID restrictions made it hard for potential members to visit clubs or to host open days to welcome people in.
The over-arching state body, Surf Life Saving NSW (SLSNSW), requires a club to have more than 50 members to be viable.
This season things are looking up for Bellambi SLSC.
Surf Life Saving Illawarra president Peter Evert said there's been a two per cent increase in patrolling membership across the region's clubs.
"Two of our smallest clubs did have positive membership increases over that of the previous season of 40 per cent and 47 per cent," Peter Evert said.
The 2021 census data recorded a 19 per cent drop in volunteering since 2016 with the biggest decline in the 15-24 age bracket.
UOW's Dr Vivien Forner, a psychology researcher and expert in volunteer retention says the declining volunteer rates in Australia is devastating.
"Australia has one of the highest rates of volunteering in the world and given our geographic size and our vulnerability to natural disasters, we rely heavily on an unpaid workforce," Dr Forner said.
"Locally, SES, RFS and SLS volunteers are our front line emergency responders, for floods, fire and surf rescues.
"We've seen the steady decline in volunteering over the past 15 years which has been exacerbated by the COVID pandemic and COVID-related restrictions.
In 2020, the Australian Bureau of Statistics recorded its lowest ever of Australians who volunteered - just 25 per cent.
Dr Forner, worked with SLSNSW to build a strategy for recruiting and retaining volunteers: "We carried out a survey of what made volunteers happy or unhappy so we can understand the motivation for people wanting to leave.
Inclusivity, trust and belonging were the main reasons people wanted to be a part of a local surf club.
Volunteering Australia, is developing a national strategy to support communities and ensure its inclusive and sustainable for future generations.
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