The Byron Bay Community Centre will host an expo in February next year aimed at helping community groups across the shire recruit volunteers.

The centre is inviting all groups who utilise volunteers to participate in the expo and present their volunteer and work experience opportunities to the public.

Cherie Bromley the volunteer co-ordinator at the centre said the centre had a lot of people applying to be volunteers who wanted “to give back to the community”.

Ms Bromley said many of them were not sure how they wanted to give, but they came to the community centre because it had a wide range of volunteer positions, and because it had a high profile and was in the middle of town.

“In the Byron Shire, there is an amazingly diverse range of volunteer opportunities out there, but they may not be as visible or accessible as the ones at the BCC,” she said.

“By its very nature, volunteering is an ever-changing phenomenon. With a constant ebb and flow of participants, community groups need to encourage a constant stream of interested, committed volunteers into their midst.

“The Byron Community Centre would like to extend itself and give back to other organisations and groups that also function with volunteers.”

Ms Bromley said a lot of people had told her they wanted to volunteer, but didn’t know what was available or how to get in touch with the relevant organisations.

“We hope that this expo will give the volunteer groups access to the public, students and job network clients who want to volunteer,” she said.

Any group or organisation large or small, that would like to have a presence at the expo can phone 6685 6807 and request an invitation and registration form to be sent out.