You’re never far from a heated debate about the footy, Game of Thrones, or the world of cuisine at the communal lunch table in Jumbla’s South Melbourne studio.

But every now and then, attention turns to a more worthwhile cause, when small groups of staff leave Jumbla HQ for the day to support a charity of their choosing.

The timing of Jumbla’s most recent volunteer day last week couldn’t have been much better either.

Today is the UN’s International Day of Charity, which calls for “a spirit of strengthened global solidarity.”

With this in mind, Jumbla creatives Christie, David, and Laura decided to prolong and preserve a piece of Australia’s history.

 Jumbla’s latest volunteer day

“We decided to volunteer for the Polly Woodside - a heritage ship in need of maintenance and repair,” said Christie Reddoch, Motion Designer at Jumbla.

“We chose this Melbourne icon because keeping history alive and well is one of the best things a community can do.”

The Polly Woodside was built in 1885 to carry coal and wheat between England and South America. In the early 20th Century, it was sold to A.H. Turnbull of New Zealand and made several voyages across the Tasman Sea to Australia.

It now resides in South Wharf after travelling 1.5 million miles and circumnavigating the globe 17 times.

“The fact the Polly Woodside was a fully functioning vessel makes it more engaging and awe-inspiring than a history text book,” adds Christie.

Swapping pen tablets for paintbrushes

In addition to raising awareness of a lesser-known cause, the team also got to try their hand at something new.

“We all came to the task not knowing a single thing about labour intensive jobs,” says Christie. “Thankfully, you didn’t need any specialist skills.”

Christie, David, and Laura still managed to exercise their artistic abilities when painting joints, bars, and steel barrels... even if it was only to prevent rust and oxidisation.

Other tasks included dismantling and labelling parts, stripping paint, and sanding down wood to remove imperfections.

Giving back and preserving history

“It’s not only important to give back to the community, but also be proud of our culture and history,” says Christie.

“With this volunteer day, I wanted to help out, have an uplifting experience, and learn something too.

“Hopefully a bit of history has been kept alive, so future generations can get a snapshot of how things were and be inspired by how far we’ve come.”

Seems like the whole experience was more benevolent than buccaneering…

Stay tuned for a video of Christie, David, and Laura’s volunteer day at the Polly Woodside.

Jumbla’s community program

Jumbla has always worked to champion charitable causes by donating studio hours to provide non-profit organisations with top-class animation.

Some of our favourites include Bring Thoughts to Action, The Cup That Counts, and SafeGround.

In 2016, Jumbla expanded its community program to provide a day of leave each year for staff to engage in volunteer projects of their choosing.

This underpins Jumbla’s commitment to supporting one another and contributing to a better society.

One of Jumbla’s most notable volunteer days was for Edgar’s Mission - a not-for-profit sanctuary for rescued farm animals.