A day in the life of people with purpose: send us your images

Posted on 08 Apr 2025

By Greg Thom, journalist, Institute of Community Directors Australia

There are more than 600,000 charity and not-for-profit organisations in Australia employing 1.47 million people and supported by 3.5 million volunteers.

Collectively, they make a vital contribution to the social fabric of the nation.

But who are the people behind the statistics working so hard to make a difference in people's lives?

The Community Advocate plans to shine a light on these tireless efforts in a special project designed to capture a 24-hour snapshot of life in the sector.

From feeding the homeless to providing mobile showers for people living on the street to volunteering at the local op shop, and performing important administration tasks behind a desk, we want to celebrate the enormous diversity of the for-purpose world.

To help do this, we are asking individuals and organisations across the sector to contribute to this project by sending us images of people in action (with their permission, of course) taken on Thursday, May 1, 2025.

To take part, please send pictures of your colleagues doing what they do best (along with short captions) to advocate@communitydirectors.com.au.

For each photo, please include names of all individuals shown (or a general description for images that show lots of people, e.g. ‘Murtoa footy team’), their organisation if applicable, and a brief description of what’s happening in your photo.

We will publish as many of these images as possible, in a pictorial essay that pays tribute to the vital contribution the sector makes to the nation.

Please ensure all images are taken between 12:01 am and 11:59pm on Thursday, May 1, so we can share a true day in the life of the charity and not-for-profit sector.

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