National Volunteer Week commends the time gifted by thousands of people across the country, many of which are seen each day in Wagga.

Whether it be emergency support, community services or a helping hand for odd jobs, volunteers all help make Wagga the thriving city it is.

Wagga SES Unit Commander Jason McDonell has been a member of the State Emergency Services for 15 years now, with many different roles and even more stories to tell.

"I used to live across the road from the RFS and SES on Fernleigh Road, and I'd see the trucks come and go," he said.

"I didn't think I'd like fighting the bushfires but I wanted to volunteer for something so I went to the SES and they were more in line with what I could do and what I could offer, so that's the path I went down and 15 years later, I'm still here."

Mr McDonell said his role in the SES came with many ups and downs.

"One of the bigger emergencies I remember being involved with was helping out with the big Sydney hailstorms," he said.

"Getting up on top of an eight storey building presents a very unique challenge, it really pushed us with trying to find ways of helping those residents in the building.

"You don't realise how tall an eight storey building is until you're up there at the edge."

Despite the challenges, Mr McDonell said there was one aspect of volunteering that stood out to him the most.

"In these 15 years and across three units, I've made an incredible amount of friends and I now have a support group that I wouldn't have otherwise met," he said.

"For that and many other reasons, I'll be sticking around."

Wagga Local Health Advisory Chairman Garth Hungerford is another volunteer donating his time for a good cause.

Helping keep the community in touch and in the loop on healthcare issues, Mr Hungerford said his two and a half years of volunteering was all about giving back.

"I guess we all have that desire to show goodness and kindness," he said.

"A part from trying to do something for people in need or helping essential causes and communities, from a personal perspective, there's so many benefits in networking, meeting others from different social backgrounds, and it does build your self esteem and confidence."

The keen volunteer still has more hours left in him to give, though.

"It does take a lot of time and there's a lot of reading and organising involved, but I love it, you just have to make the time to do it," Mr Hungerford said.

"Plus, it's a change of scenery from my normal day job, I get to have fresh eyes on an issue."