While giving back to the community both practically and financially is an admirable pursuit, many people may be going about it the wrong way. Peter Baines founded charity Hands Across the Water after spending 22 years with the NSW Police leading teams in response to acts of terrorism and natural disasters,  and says that many Australians approach charity work as a one-day-a-year commitment. 'If people think that they are going to go to a charity and create significant change in one day then they are naive at best, and arrogant at worst,' Mr Baines told Daily Mail Australia. Peter Baines founded charity Hands Across the Water, after responding to the Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004 . 'I'm involved with a food van in Sydney that operates seven nights a week to feed the homeless. There is a core group of volunteers but at Christmas time we are swamped with people wanting to help out,' Mr Baines said. 'Homeless people need to be fed all year, so is it about the people you are looking to support or is it about you? I was always a bit mystified and I feel like people want to do it so they can talk about what they've done at the next cocktail party they go to,' he said. As part of the leadership team that responded to the Bali bombings in 2002 and the Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004, Mr Baines has had almost 30 years experience responding to people in need. The Australian of the Year finalist and Order of Australia medal recipient has made it his life's goal to bring effective and meaningful change to the lives of those who need it the most, and believes that a different approach to charity work needs to be adopted. In his new book, Doing Good for Doing Good, Mr Baines says that people can be a 'waste of space' when they volunteer if they aren't committed to doing something of value, and are only interested in how their charity work makes them look. Mr Baines is an Australian of the Year finalist and Order of Australia medal recipient . Hands Over the Water was founded in 2005 and has set up several orphanages around Thailand . The charity has raised over $10 million without spending any donor money on administration costs . 'There are many Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs that allow employees to give up one day a year to volunteer, but it's essential to consider how effective that one day is,' he said. 'If you were to turn up to someone else's workplace as an unskilled worker, they would spend the day giving you training, showing you around, getting you familiarised, only to have you leave.' Mr Baines is passionate about creating meaningful experiences for those who volunteer, the workplaces who send them, and the charity, in order that everyone involved gets the 'best value' out of the exchange. While it may seem a clinical approach to giving back to the community, Mr Baines said that it is crucial for businesses and individuals to make decisions about how to contribute with both the heart and head, so that the biggest impact is made on those who need it. 'For companies involved in CSR it would be much more effective to give 50 employees a day off each week or month to volunteer so that they are plugged in and contributing, rather than giving 300 employees one day off a year, where many will not be interested or adding value,' Mr Baines said. 'For many people their intent is pure but it's just unrealistic to be effective in one day,' he said. Mr Baines spent 22 years with the NSW Police leading teams in response to  terrorism acts and disasters . He was involved in leading teams responding to the 2002 Bali bombings and the Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004 . Mr Baines is passionate about creating meaningful experiences for those who volunteer for charities . In 2005, Mr Baines founded Hands Across the Water, a charity most recently recognised for raising funds for Baby Gammy, the little boy with Down's Syndrome at the centre of the Thai surrogacy scandal. Today, the charity is one of the fastest growing not-for-profit organisations in the country, and relies on donations from generous Australians to continue it's good work. However, Mr Baines has set up the charity so that people who want to give can be actively involved in seeing where their money goes, and maintains that simply giving money to a worthy cause can be an empty move. 'It's like a warm bath- you feel good when you are in it but half an hour later the water is cold and the feeling is gone,' he said. 'There's no engagement when companies or individuals simply hand over money and walk away. It's important to create opportunities for shared experiences so that people can have their own stories and engage more strongly with what they are giving to.' Mr Baines said that while donations are the backbone of charities and essential for their work, people will be less likely to keep giving if they don't have a relationship with the charity. Mr Baines is passionate about people engaging with where and to whom their money goes to . The Boxing Day tsunami of 2004 resulted in the deaths of 230,000 people in 14 countries . Thailand was one of the worst affected nations- 25,000 people were killed, presumed dead, or displaced . 'Some charities tend to focus on the work they are doing rather than recognising and embracing the donors. The work that Hands Over the Water does in Thailand would be impossible without this,' he said. When the Boxing Day tsunami of 2004 hit, it resulted in the deaths of 230,000 people in 14 countries, with Thailand as one of the worst affected nations- 25,000 people were killed, presumed dead, or displaced. When Mr Baines was in Thailand eight months after the tsunami hit, he was struck by the plight of the children in the area who had lost their parents and had no one to care for them. 'After a big crisis people turn up to help, but charities and government authorities and NGO's all leave too quickly. If you want to make long term change you need to make a long term committment, and so we started raising funds for these kids- and a year later built a house for them,' Mr Baines said. 'But it was only when we opened the home that we realised that they needed more funds for operating, and children kept coming in. I was naive, I thought that if we built them a home all their problems would go away,' he said. Mr Baines realised that simply giving money and leaving them was not an option, or an effective way to create change in the lives of the children. Hands Across the Water is passionate about providing engagement with their donors, and operates bike rides around Thailand for those who are keen to both raise money for the charity and see in person the projects that their money goes towards. 'We run a Schoolies ride as an alternative for high school leavers, so instead of heading up to the Gold Coast, which I don't think is all that memorable, they can head on a five-day bike ride and end at one of our orphanages,' Mr Baines said. Mr Baines has released his latest book, Doing Good by Doing Good, which it out now . Mr Baines said that many Australians approach charity work as a one-day-a-year commitment . 'These rides have been hugely successful, and when we launched our rides in January both sold our in 90 minutes and we have return rate of 73% of people,' he said. The charity has raised over $10 million without spending any donor money on administration costs, and has set up a company to sit alongside the charity to provide a sustainable income to employ a full-time worker and continue the maintenance of Hands. With the money the charity has built several orphanages, providing a home to several hundred children each night in Thailand, and has also constructed a medical and community centre in the Khao Lak region of the nation. Mr Baines said that the way people have engaged with the charity after seeing the work it is doing is indication that people need to understand where their money is going, and highlights how important it is to make sure donating isn't an empty experience. 'When people want to give money, it's important that they do their research. The first one they come across may not be the right one,' he said. 'If you give to a charity or want to volunteer, make it the right one so you do it for longer.' Doing Good by Doing Good by Peter Baines is out now.
Peter Baines founded charity Hands Across the Water in 2005 . He spent 22 years leading teams responding to natural disasters . Mr Baines said many Australians approach volunteering the wrong way . He is passionate about people being actively involved with charities . Instead of just giving, he wants people to know what they're giving to .