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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Gwen Brook
92-year-old volunteer Gwen Brook, is never happier and more purposeful than when massaging residents' hands and feet at Rosetta Community Strathglen. She also acts as a buddy with one-on-one visits to newcomers for the first week to help them settle in.
Gwen lives in Uniting AgeWell's Strathglen Mews independent living village just opposite the age care facility, which makes nipping over very easy.
"I firmly believe that everyone needs a hug, a good ear and a hand in life," says Gwen. "You get out of life what you put into it, and if I can get a smile from the residents or see their eyes light up, that's wonderful!" -
Sue O’Donohoe
There are happy tails all round when volunteer Sue brings her Burnese Mountain pups Esme and Maggie to visit residents at Uniting AgeWell Strathdon Community.
She says residents pat, cuddle and feed the dogs, and she dresses them up for special occasions - bunny ears for Easter and antlers and tinsel for Christmas.
Sue describes Maggie and Esme as loveable and cuddly "but not the brightest sparks" in the doggie world. "They don't do tricks, and if I throw a ball for them, they'll fetch it once, and then look at me in disgust as if to say 'yeah, I'm not doing that again thanks."
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Enid Skinner
Meet Enid of north-western Tasmania, who volunteers her time by knitting toddlers’ jumpers for the Country Women’s Association and has also made countless bonnets and bootees for prem babies, as well as 60 Bananas in Pyjamas toys for charity.
The fiercely independent 83-year-old lives happily on a seven-acre smallholding in the area, thanks to a home care package through Uniting AgeWell with carers coming three times a week.
“This has been my home for the last thirty years,” she explains. “I can’t imagine living anywhere else.”
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
We'd love to hear from you. Fill out the form and we'll be in touch soon!
Phone: 1300 783 435
Email: [email protected] -
Locations
We have offices across metropolitan and regional Victoria and Tasmania.
Find your local office