National Volunteers Week | Teen taking volunteering in her stride

Heli Laajoki was always destined to find her way to the snow.

With a father hailing from Finland, Heli grew up in Canberra not far from the NSW snowfields and it wasn’t long after she started to walk that parents Petri and Leanne introduced her to skiing.

Heli, 17, has gone on to forge a successful career in cross country skiing and was selected to the Australian Junior Squad for the 2022-23 season.

But when she’s not improving her own racing skills or studying year 12 at Melba Copland Secondary College, Heli can often be found putting her hand up to volunteer in snowsport-related activities.

Last weekend she could be seen helping out at the Canberra Snow Sale, while she has also been in junior coaching and participation programs.

Having watched her parents helping out over her formative years in the sport, Heli believes volunteering was a “natural progression” given the many hours she had seen others put in so she could compete.  

“From when I was 10 to 13, my mum was running the ACT Rollerski sessions every Sunday in Canberra,” said Heli. “She was coaching and both of my parents know a lot about skiing so they’re always around helping, doing different things.

“My parents demonstrated how much more there is to sport than just racing.

“There’s community, family, friends, people finding new interests, and volunteering is a huge part of that.

“I’ve always tried to be involved in as many ways as I can in the community, and that was probably the next way after just doing racing myself.”

National Volunteer Week 2023 is a celebration of the power to drive change and ensure volunteering is inclusive of all members of the Australian community. While many see volunteering as the domain of helpful parents and those with time to give back to community groups, Heli is one of a growing cohort of teens willing to help out in areas they’re interested or already involved in.

Heli has been involved with Little Gliders, Snow Australia programs which prepare students for an on-snow experience by introducing children to cross country and alpine skiing through game based learning with modified ski equipment. 

“I like giving back to the community that’s always helped me out,” said Heli. “Growing up in skiing, and also in broader snowsports as well, it becomes quite a family so it’s just nice to help out.

“I think often especially with the coaching side of volunteering, it’s just the nicest feeling ever when someone at the end of a session has the biggest smile on their face and says ‘oh my goodness, that was really helpful’, and even just giving advice around technique, or gear, it’s always just nice to make others happy I guess.”

Click here for more information on National Volunteer Week.

Click here for more information on Snow Australia’s Little Shredders and Little Gliders programs.