By Callum Ludwig
A symbol of selflessness and service for us all, volunteers dedicate their time to the betterment of others.
At Mercy Place in Montrose, the team wanted to recognise Leeanne Green who volunteers to help host an arts and crafts session for residents every Thursday morning.
Ms Green said she first became interested in volunteering at the aged care when visiting the mother of a friend.
“I saw the cards at the front of a reception area which was handmade by some of the volunteers, but they didn’t have a lot of them. I’d taken up card making for myself and had a huge bulk of them and didn’t know who to give them to so asked them if would they like them at the reception,” she said.
“Then Dee (Halligan) contacted me and wanted to know if I would be interested in coming in to help the craft ladies, so I came along just to have a look, see what it was to start with and loved it.”
Ms Green started volunteering at Mercy Place in November 2022.
Ms Green said the crafts are simple but creative enough that it keeps residents engaged.
“It’s definitely a talking point among them, it gets them all interacting together and every second week the men have their indoor golf and the women cheer them on, rather than being in their room and feeling lonely it gives them something to look forward to,” she said.
“I’m of that age where I’m coming into thinking about my future, and this is the kind of thing that I hope that I’ll be able to have when I get to 70, 80, or when I need extra help. I see these people and their journey, and I just hope one day there’ll be someone there to do this for me too.”
Ms Green has volunteered throughout her whole life, taking up previous roles at her kid’s schools, tennis clubs and even a local library.
Ms Green said a lot of people are frightened that they’ll get overloaded with too much work if they volunteer.
“I only do 2 hours a week, sometimes I extend it out a little. All you have to do is maybe find a two-hour timeslot and that’s more than acceptable,” she said.
“Aged cares or even kindergartens and preschools need help. The coordinators and all the people in charge are under the pump and just need help, and volunteers are a good way of doing it without throwing out their budget or taking on too much.”
