People power at V4U Day 2026

V4U Day, which has been running since 2011, is an all-day event where volunteers help out at local schools, community organisations and projects in Melbourne’s west. 

This year, 182 volunteers took part in the event, assisting at schools, aged-care facilities, community groups, local venues, community gardens, and more.  

Following a briefing and breakfast at VU Footscray Park Campus, volunteers travelled together in busses to the projects across the west, guided by student team leaders. 

Daryl Gresty from Pines Scout Camp in Altona, said the volunteers, who weeded gardens in preparation for new plantings, were “absolutely amazing.” 

Event organiser Ryan Dao has managed the event for the past five years, and explained that the event is months-in-the-making: the team invite 200 community organisations and shortlist based on which organisations are interested and work with them to plan out the volunteer jobs for the day.  

“This year, some of the volunteers’ achievements included cleaning up Buckingham Reserve, revamping and weeding gardens, running arts and crafts activities that brought Christmassy vibes to aged-care residents at Doutta Galla Aged Care, and inspecting and reviewing accessibility at local Footscray venues,” Ryan said. 

VU student Sitashma Baniya led a team clean-up effort at Kororoit Creek. She enjoyed the conversations through the day and taking a break together over lunch to relax in the sun and play games. She said it felt “fruitful and pretty meaningful to clean with other people. And my group was completely made up of international students…We actually got quite a lot done.” 

VU Chief Wellbeing Officer Carol Corzo said that V4U Day is “an opportunity for everyone to volunteer and give back, connect with community, and connect with each other as well, build new skills and build friendships.” 

After completing the community projects, volunteer teams returned to VU Footscray Park to celebrate their achievements together.

Want to get involved in volunteering? Check out VU Vollies program. 

If you’re from an organisation in the West and would like to take part in V4U Day 2027, please complete a short Expression of Interest form.