Residents of the ACT have again been shown to be Australia's most generous people with their time, according to the 2016 census data.
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Almost 24 per cent of ACT residents said they had volunteered in the 12 months before completing the 2016 census. In the 2011 census, 21.2 per cent of residents in the nation's capital volunteered.
Retiree Marion Jarvis, 66, decided she wanted to be productive with her time in retirement and so began volunteering with Communities@Work, just over three years ago.
Ms Jarvis found it difficult to "switch off" from work and wanted to do something to give back to people.
Communities@Work is a broad-based social enterprise that has been operating in Canberra since the 1970s. They offer childcare and education services and use the proceeds from these services to fund their community programs.
One such community program is their community pantries initiative which provides healthy food and personal care items to at risk individuals and families in Canberra. The food programs rely heavily on volunteers as they receive very little government funding.
During her days volunteering in the community pantry, Ms Jarvis spends her time stacking shelves and interacting with the various clients who come in.
Sometimes clients simply want someone to listen. "They don't need any help, but they just feel better because they've actually spoken to somebody," Ms Jarvis said.
Studies have shown that those who volunteer feel more socially connected, and so are less likely to feel lonely and depressed. They have also shown volunteering may improve physical health too, by lowering blood pressure and increasing your lifespan.
"I come here and I've still got a smile on my face every day when I go home," she said.
Communities@Work operates two community pantries, located at the Tuggeranong and Gungahlin community centres. The pantries are open Monday to Friday from 9am until 3pm.
Graeme Matthew, 65, has been volunteering for Communities@Work for five years. Mr Matthew believes the community pantry program is "a little bit like running a country general store, you know everybody and they know you".
"[The program] allows me to mix with a whole range of different people, from different backgrounds," he said.
The two pantries get about 3100 visits a month from ACT residents experiencing hardship.
