About 800 volunteers have come forward to do their bit for tsunami victims.

They'll be helping to pack relief supplies at warehouses specially set up by SembCorp Logistics and the Centre.

"It's the holiday season, I've got time, so volunteer and do something useful," said first-time volunteer Magdalene Kong.

The National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre is looking at ways to sustain the enthusiasm of volunteerism, including school trips later in the year to help reconstruction efforts in tsunami-affected areas.

For now, relief groups have already starting fanning out to Sri Lanka and Aceh.

The centre is organising a sharing session later in the week for those who've returned from such trips to share their experiences.

It also hopes to bring the various groups together.

National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre's Ho Sun Yee said: "Some people have the heart for Sri Lanka, some people have the heart for Aceh. It's okay for them to still do it, but we would want to encourage groups going to Aceh, for example, to go under a single banner, either with the Singapore Inc approach where there is some kind of national identity. Different religious groups, different organizations coming together to serve in another country is good for nation-building and community bonding."

But the key question is: when will the relief supplies head out to those who really need them?

With reports of relief supplies stuck in bottlenecks at ports and airports in tsunami-hit areas, those behind the relief efforts say the best solution is to store the items until the affected countries are ready to receive them.