When Anita Lussetti's parents were dying, the family was supported by volunteers at Mercy Palliative Care.

The IT worker, then in her 40s, took six months off from her job to care for her parents, and was considering a career change at the same time.

"I decided that I needed something that gave me more purpose," she says.

She began volunteering with Uniting Care, visiting socially isolated people, and decided to enrol in a degree in counselling.

"The volunteering just assured me that I was on the right path doing the right things," she says.

Anita now works as a trauma counsellor and hasn't looked back.

"I'm in the best job of my life," she says.

Why volunteer

In Australia, an estimated 5 million people volunteer for various reasons.

A survey of employers found that 85 per cent va

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