Make a positive difference
Volunteers play an integral role in supporting and enhancing the services Uniting AgeWell provides.
Become a volunteer today
Ready to make new friends, improve your own wellbeing and the lives of others?
Volunteers contribute to the wellbeing of clients in many ways, through a dozens of volunteering opportunities including:
- Transporting clients
- Contributing to events and activities
- Gardening
- Entertainment
- Supporting lifestyle activities
- Office administration
- Home visits.
For information about becoming a Uniting AgeWell volunteer, contact (03) 13 93 75.
Become a volunteer todayWhat is involved?
Volunteering with Uniting AgeWell is tailored to you. No prior volunteering experience is necessary.
The amount of time you contribute is entirely up to you. It might be once a week, once a month or once a year on a special project.
Uniting AgeWell provides training and on-going management support to all volunteers, and coverage for Personal Accident, Public Liability and Professional Indemnity insurance.
Recognising our volunteers
Uniting AgeWell volunteer Ruth Hosking, was awarded an Order of Australia (OAM) honour this year for nearly four decades of service to the local community.
The Bendigo 89-year-old gets huge joy from volunteering at Uniting AgeWell Strath-Haven Community in Bendigo where she meets with families and individuals who are considering admission into residential care, listens to their concerns and ensures the answers she gives meet their needs.
And even over the last two years, with Victoria in and out of lockdown during COVID, Ruth has simply carried on her volunteering work at Strath-Haven – chatting to people over zoom and the phone and emailing them important information in fact sheets, which she has developed from a range of resources.
A spotlight on volunteering
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Anne Davis
Anne Davis says volunteering to spend time chatting to older people through Uniting AgeWell literally changed her life.
The retired Ballarat financial worker found herself becoming increasingly withdrawn during the series of COVID lockdowns. To make matters worse, Anne underwent two major back surgeries and two knee replacements in quick succession, leaving her incapacitated while she recovered.
“I lost confidence in myself. I became increasingly introverted and isolated, and one day my husband suggested I start volunteering," explains Anne.
“Volunteering gives me a reason to get up in the morning. It’s lovely to be purposeful and feel needed.”
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Jan and Yvonne
Meet Jan Pfundt and Yvonne Johnston – the smiley faces behind hundreds and hundreds of cups of tea and scones and cream served at Uniting AgeWell’s Newnham Community, Aldersgate Village Family Fun Fair recently.
Jan and Yvonne live opposite each other at the independent retirement village that abuts the aged care community - and both volunteered their services for the fair recently. They ran the Devonshire Tea stall like clockwork and was a delicious highlight of the day.
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Yvonne Seymour
The 83-year-old Uniting AgeWell volunteer briefly flirted with the idea of retiring but thought, “No way! I’ve still got so much to offer.”
So instead she opted for the Chat-a-Ring Social Connections Program where she chats to older people over the phone rather than visiting them at their homes.
The outer eastern suburbs’ resident has volunteered with Wesley Do Care, the Uniting Church and Uniting AgeWell since the age of 53 and says it has taught her so much about life – and herself!
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Merv Stanton
Uniting AgeWell Queenborough Rise Community volunteer, Merv Stanton, who is 96-year-old, still works in the garden for a few hours every day excluding the weekends, and was touched when a sign “Merv’s Garden” was recently erected in the grounds.
“The more you give as a volunteer, the more you receive,” says the retired Anglican Minister. “I have gained so much personally through helping others. It’s wonderful.”
Merv has not only been busy in the garden, over the years he’s called Bingo, gone on bus trips with residents, helped set up the Garden Club and looked after the library. He also prepares the quiz every fortnight.
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Jamie Bessell
Former limousine chauffeur Jamie Bessell is right on track when it comes to giving back to the community.
He’s a volunteer at Uniting AgeWell’s Grampians Community Transport service which provides transport assistance for older people living in Ararat, Ballarat and surrounding areas.
Jamie, who lives on a five acre lifestyle block in Haddon, west of Ballarat, says being purposeful and busy during his retirement keeps him on top of his game.
“I enjoy driving people around to doctors’ appointments or social outings and it’s great to chat to them.”
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Debbie Saunders
Debby Saunders loves making older people smile.
And she attributes the great joy and purpose she feels in her life to volunteering to do just this, at Uniting AgeWell Newnham Community Aldersgate Village.
“If I can make even one person happier each day, then I’m happy,” Debby says. “And I’ve learned over the years that there’s always a way to connect to someone; even a gentle hand massage is a way of showing care.”
Stan Roberts’ world has evolved around his wife, Dorothy for the last 28 years they have been married.
So, in the way that carers deeply understand, he felt heart-broken but also hugely relieved when she moved into Uniting AgeWell Kalkee Community Nangatta towards the end of 2021 after her dementia worsened.
As well as visiting Dorothy, he’s taken up volunteering there two days a week: helping staff during busy meal times and being involved with activities for residents. He even brings along his saxophone, and performs old favourites for everyone.
Cassie Wallace can recall the defining moment that changed the course of her life.
After 18 months as an unemployed university graduate, Cassie decided to and start volunteering. And when a volunteer admin position at Uniting AgeWell came up, she jumped at the opportunity.
Her value was soon recognised and she was offered a permanent role. Fast-forward eight years and Cassie, who leads a team which is a critical component of the engine room of Uniting AgeWell, has received a highly-prestigious organisation-wide Excellence Award.
Every day I volunteer at Kingsville Community is different.
Some days I spend one-on-one time with a resident as a friend, going to the coffee shop or out for a walk in the garden. I also help the staff from the lifestyle team with activities and outings, or help the hairdresser at the on-site salon with whatever she needs. Volunteering is the most rewarding work I’ve ever had. When you do something and you see a resident smile as a result of it, that’s more rewarding than any money.
- Lou Bonnici, Uniting AgeWell Volunteer
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Get in touch
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Phone: 1300 783 435
Email: [email protected] -
Locations
We have offices across metropolitan and regional Victoria and Tasmania.
Find your local office