RUSSELL Little was not satisfied pottering around the house when he retired, and decided to give back to his community by volunteering his time to help other people.

The Hoppers Crossing resident gives up his spare time to mentor younger people and tutor those who need help.

He said it can be challenging, but it is also very rewarding.

Efforts like Mr Little’s do not go unnoticed, and 5 December is recognised as International Volunteer Day.

More than 5.4 million people volunteer in Australia annually, according to Volunteering Australia.

Mr Little volunteers with the Smith Family, and most recently has been working with a gentleman from Burma to help him improve his English.

Once a week Mr Little tutors Htoo in speaking about things that relate directly to life.

“Htoo hopes to begin a gardening job by next year, so I got all my tools out of the shed, took photos and made a presentation for him,” said Mr Little.

“Htoo was really excited because it relates directly to what he wants to do,” he said.

The 61-year-old spent 41 years as a mechanical engineer at Holden and retired last October.

“I had a good job for a long time, and now this has put me back into thinking about how I can help,” he said.

“I’m teaching this guy so his children will be better.”

Mr Little would like to see more people get involved with volunteering.

He was amazed at the spectrum of volunteers in his training course.

“It was quite awesome to see all these people come together with a common interest – different nationalities, different religions, males and females,” he said.

Mr Little said everyone in his training course seemed to have another job in addition to giving up their free time to volunteer.

“I was expecting to see more retirees to put their hand up to volunteer. They certainly have the time,” he said.