National Vol Video Comp Winners Announced

Minister for Social Inclusion Mark Butler has announced the winners of the 2012 Volunteer Video Competition for Young People.

The competition was open to young people aged 15-17 and 18-24 years, and invited them to create a multimedia message that captured the theme 'Your passion, Our nation. Volunteer now!'

Mr Butler said he was impressed by the passion and commitment shown by each of the entrants in this year's competition, as well as their technical ability.

“Each submission presented the opportunities volunteering presents differently: by enhancing your own skills or personal experience - but more importantly, all of the videos told unique and rewarding stories about the value of helping others through volunteering.”

In Australia volunteers contribute more than 700 million hours of unpaid work each year, yet research shows that young people aged 18 to 24 volunteer less than the national average.

“Each year, over six million volunteers do everything from helping disadvantaged children learn to read, to providing companionship to the elderly, to supporting environmental projects.”

“We know that the participation of young people is an important factor in the overall rate of volunteering in the future, which is why it’s so important to get out the message about the positive differences our young people can make through volunteering,” Mr Butler said.

“I am very pleased to announce the winners today, who will no doubt inspire others with their passion for volunteering.”

The winners are:

• Overall winner (across both age categories): Redeemer Baptist School Group Entry North Parramatta, NSW
• Category A (15 to under 18)
  • 1st - Henry Strong East Launceston, TAS
  • 2nd - Matthew Ford Westleigh, NSW
  • 3rd - Aneita Yang Bexley, NSW
• Category B (18 to under 25)
  • 1st - Ralph Stevenson and Jelena Sinik Randwick, NSW
  • 2nd - Jackson Redshaw Empire Bay, NSW
  • 3rd - Chris Daniels Glenunga, SA

Minister Butler thanked the volunteer judges of the Competition, Melissa Abu–Gazaleh, Michael Green, Melody Pedler and David Whitbread, themselves champions of volunteering.

“The judges brought to their task a wealth of experience in the not-for-profit sector, media, graphic design and communications.

“Thank you to the judges for volunteering their time to undertake the challenging task of selecting the winners from such high quality entries.” Minister Butler said.

All entries, including the winning entries, are available online at volunteering.notforprofit.gov.au