On the 23 August 1982 the SA Volunteer Centre - the pioneer organisation which was to become Volunteering SA - opened their front doors for the first time. Located in the city of Adelaide, the Centre was the brain child of two dynamic women; Mavis Reynolds and Joy Noble. At first the Centre was fully staffed by volunteers, however with the support from SA Council of Social Service (SACOSS), funds were made available from the Dept. of Community Welfare and the Co-op Building Society, and a part time coordinator was put in place.

Both Mavis Reynolds and Joy Nobel had experience of volunteers and volunteering and both believed that through a service which provided the link between those wishing to volunteer and the organisations that sought them, much could be achieved to benefit not only the organisations but also the volunteers themselves. Some of their thinking was stimulated by a SACOSS study in which community organisations has expressed an ongoing need for volunteers and whose paid staff had requested help in making the best use of volunteers. It was a most fortuitous meeting of minds and personalities, but what these two women shared was an absolute conviction that a Volunteer Centre which provided both a referral service and training in the use of volunteers would flourish in South Australia.

Very careful placement of volunteers and essential follow-up were crucial to success. Of course, also crucial to their success were the skills of the staff in the organisations which took them on. From the very beginnings the Centre spread its net wide, both in the range of people with a multiplicity of skills who might become volunteers, and in diversity of organisations which were registered - not only from the not-for-profit welfare sector but also those involved in sport, in schools, in museums, art galleries, and libraries.

In 1994 the SA Volunteer Centre was incorporated as Volunteering SA Inc and in 2007 changed its name to Volunteering SA & NT Inc. As the peak body representing the interests of volunteers and the volunteering sector in South Australia and the Northern Territory, VSA & NT Inc's missions is to promote volunteering and play a key leadership role in advancing volunteering by providing an extensive range of services, support and resources for some 600,000 volunteers and over 1400 volunteer organisations.

Photo above: Joy (left) and Mavis (right) enjoy the festivities at the Going For Gold Gala Event in 2007, celebrating 25 years since the organisation was founded.