Sarah Welton-Blake believes the true value of volunteering lies in the connections, confidence and sense of purpose built when people show up for others.

Through her organisation, Community Hours, Welton-Blake has watched strangers bond over shared stories and discover a common drive.

“I’ve learned not to underestimate the willingness of people to help. I’ve also learned that we all look for connection. Volunteering events often start with people who don’t know each other at all, and within a couple of hours they are laughing together, working together and sharing stories.”

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It is this human connection that has shaped her approach to service since launching the platform.

She believes service should not be treated simply as an obligation to complete a certain number of hours, but as an opportunity to discover interests, develop skills and become part of something bigger.

“I see volunteering as something much more reciprocal than I probably did before. I understand that time is a currency, and we should give it freely, but that in doing so we gain perspective, connection, skills and a sense of belonging.”

Welton-Blake has developed a particular appreciation for young volunteers, saying they are often more aware of social issues than adults give them credit for.

“Youth have taught me something particularly important: they are often far more aware of the world around them than adults give them credit for, and for the most part they want to contribute,” she said.

“They want to be taken seriously. They want to know that their actions have meaning.”

Rather than telling young people how they should change the world, she believes adults should create opportunities for them to discover their own capacity to contribute.

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“Our job, I think, is not always to tell teenagers how to change the world. Sometimes it is simply to allow them to start.”

Building a culture of volunteering comes with challenges. Welton-Blake said people live with constant pressure, distractions, and competing demands, making it difficult to encourage them to pause and give their time without expecting something in return.

Yet the moments that keep her going are simple: hearing from someone who discovered a passion through volunteering, watching strangers become a team or learning that an organisation achieved something because a volunteer showed up.

“Community Hours is powered by possibility. It is about people connecting with people and realising we each have something meaningful to contribute.”

For Welton-Blake, that contribution does not need to be extraordinary.

“We don’t have to change the whole world. We have to be willing to change the small part of it that is within our reach.”

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