Matilda’s story

My name's Matilda and I'm from the Macedon Ranges. I first got involved with Live4Life Crew in 2013, so over 10 years ago.

Live4Life is a fantastic organisation that has some really good values and a really great community — and so that's what I wanted to get out of Crew4Life, to continue moving forward with some of these connections that I've made.

What I find most rewarding about being a volunteer is having a fantastic network of people that you get to spend time with and who are really passionate and who are interested in the same things that you're interested in and who want to make a difference altogether.

My passion is about youth mental health and creating change from the ground up within a community. I really think it's important to bring people together to talk about all sorts of different topics and reduce the stigma. I've always been passionate about reducing mental health stigma and spreading awareness and spreading some coping mechanisms and some self-care tips because, as we know, physical health and mental health are combined.

I think volunteering is important because it gives you an opportunity to be involved with a different experience to what you're used to. In regional and rural areas, sometimes there aren't as many opportunities to break out of your day-to-day or to meet new people and to get involved with different topics and different discussions. Volunteering is a great opportunity to understand some different perspectives.

If you're thinking about volunteering, I would say jump in. You don't know until you try. And you never know who you're going to meet when you're involved with a different group or a different community. Give it a go. Put your toes in and see what it's like. And if it's for you, I'm looking forward to meeting you.