Tibetan Buddhist Society Melbourne

We are always delighted to welcome new volunteers in any of the areas below. If you would like to know more about helping in any of them, please let us know by filling in the volunteer interest form or contacting us – see where to start.

If you have interests or skills (e.g. professional, trade, publicity, admin or other) that you’d like to offer, but are not included in the areas described below, please phone 9333 1770 (and leave a message) or let us know about them via the volunteer interest form and we will be in touch.

Gardening

The gardens surrounding the centre are large and beautiful. Maintaining and developing them is a labour of love for our keen gardeners!

Gardeners come together on Saturday mornings from 10am –12:30pm to chat over weeding or other garden projects. If you can’t make it on Saturdays but would like to come during the week with one or two of our regular team members, please let us know. Even if you can only manage to come once in a while, it is still a great help. 

Garden stories are shared at morning tea and over a delicious lunch afterwards. You are welcome to bring your own gloves and tools, although we can provide them. Please call before coming, as sometimes gardening is cancelled due to other events.

Festival support

We hold two weekend festivals a year, with a variety of talks and activities, including tours of the temple, garden tours, children’s meditation sessions, a café, and shopping opportunities at our Enjoyment shop and other stalls.

If you are on our mailing list, you will be notified about upcoming festivals. You may like to put up your hand to be on a roster for helping on the day. All help is gratefully received and no special skills are needed! The festival group is also very keen to welcome newcomers to the planning and organizing team (see more about teams).

Events and classes support

We have a busy calendar of classes and special events, which requires lots of background effort. We are always keen for assistance with promotion and administration as well as with setting up and connecting with visitors on the day. We regularly have people coming to the centre for the first time, and being a friendly face to help newcomers find their way and learn more about the centre can be really rewarding! 

If you like baking, we always welcome cakes and other tasty treats to serve to people coming to events and classes. It helps if the items can be frozen, so they can be used later if not needed on the day.

Property maintenance

The residential buildings and temple require a lot of ongoing maintenance. If you have skills that would help, a trade, or an interest in supporting building maintenance, your assistance would be very welcome!

Retreat support

We organise a variety of retreats throughout the year, ranging from brief one–day or week–long retreats, to extended retreats intended for more experienced meditators. Many participants describe these retreats as life-changing, so helping to organise them can be particularly meaningful.

Opportunities to support the retreats include helping with planning, publicity, and preparing the centre and temple for visitors ahead of time. If you are doing the retreat, you can also support other participants who are either staying at the centre or attending for the day.

Temple Cleaning

The magnificent traditional Tibetan Buddhist temple needs regular cleaning to keep it looking beautiful. Some cleaning is undertaken weekly. Additionally, we hold working bees which have a variety of tasks available to suit people’s differing interests and capabilities. Cleaning materials are provided as are morning tea and a delicious lunch!

The special working bees are held on a Saturday morning from 10-12.30pm. The planned dates are shown on our website calendar and are also advertised via email if you are on our mailing list.

Helping in the Enjoyment Shop

The Enjoyment shop in the temple foyer has a beautiful range of gifts and Buddhist books and items. The shop opens when classes are on and during the festivals and other events. We welcome help in the shop during opening times.

E-Newsletter

Help us to create a forum for thought-provoking articles and blogs on Buddhist topics, volunteer stories, TBS community news and more. The centre prepares two e-newsletters per year, distributed to the mailing list of the Tibetan Buddhist Society, and archived on our website.

Please see more about teams if you’d like to be involved. We would especially welcome volunteers with skills and interest in writing, editing and/or design.

Charitable activities

The Tibetan Buddhist Society has an ongoing association with Banksia Gardens Community Services in Broadmeadows. We currently cook and serve Sunday lunch every two weeks to those in need. At the moment, no new volunteers are needed to help with this project.

Other activities

Separately from these regular activities, members of our TBS volunteer community also do things such as host visits from schools and community groups at the centre, make outreach visits to other organisations, support the accounting, administration and compliance needs of the centre and its Tushita publications wing, donate money and food for charitable activities, and of course, teach and lead classes and retreats.

Additional centre activities also happen within the teams, such as the community support, newsletter and communications strategy teams (see more about teams).