What we do
Two words. Volunteering. Trips.
That really encapsulates it: we take groups of young people out to country towns and help out with any projects they may need done. These can range from simple things like mulching garden beds and painting to more advanced things like little landscaping projects and even disaster relief.
We have two kinds of trips on offer:
The Day Trip
A Day Trip sees us heading off from Sydney on a Saturday or Sunday morning to a community about two hours away.
We will spend the day volunteering and have lunch with the townsfolk. After lunch, we will continue volunteering for a couple of hours more.
Finally, we will head back home, our good day’s deed done.
Day Trips are the best choice for those who either have limited free time or aren’t comfortable with the idea of going away for a whole weekend with a group of people you may not yet know.
The Weekender
Usually to a town three or more hours out of Sydney, a Weekender sees us leaving on a Friday and coming back on Sunday. We volunteer on Saturday and Sunday, and sleep in our sleeping bags on the floor of community halls, school auditoriums, etc. Real character-building stuff.
A typical Weekender itinerary looks like this:
- Friday: We arrive at the town in the evening and spend the night there.
- Saturday: We volunteer for about five hours and then explore the town, going to a local pub for dinner.
- Sunday: We volunteer for three to four hours and head back to Sydney.
Some testimonials
Big thanks to Mils and Ruvi! My body will absolutely hate me tomorrow but had a great weekend working with everyone!
Joy, Volunteer
It was really lovely to meet you and your team of volunteers last month. It’s inspiring to spend time with such a great bunch of intelligent, hard-working & fun young people.
Amanda, town resident
Thank you Ruvi and Mils for organising and thank you to everyone else too for making this a very fun weekend! Keen for more BCL soon!
Sam, volunteer
Volunteering documentary: “Beyond City Limits”
Beyond City Limits is a short film made by co-founder Ruvi as his final project at uni. It documents a trip in late 2023 to Eugowra, a town five hours west of Sydney which had suffered a devastating flood the previous year. Our group of volunteers went over to help the townsfolk, who were still recovering.
In 2025 we revisited Eugowra and planted 250 native trees to conserve the local glossy black cockatoo population, and it was heartwarming to see the town and its people thriving again.
This film shows the sort of volunteering we do here, and demonstrates the impact that volunteering can have on not just the recipients, but also the volunteers themselves.
The film’s name was what inspired us to call this organisation Beyond City Lights.
You can watch it below:
We wish to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land upon which we operate, the Dharawal Nation. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.
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