Volunteers from a range of organisations that support Wagga Base Hospital have had their selfless work recognised as part of National Volunteer Week. Photo: Jarryd Rowley.
Volunteers from several local support groups whose members volunteer their time to Wagga Wagga Base Hospital have had their efforts recognised this week.
Groups such as Wayfinding, Pastoral Care, Ronald McDonald House and organisers of the Snack and Magazine Trolley were invited to the hospital for a morning tea that honoured their works.
The hospital’s volunteers support staff with jobs such as food delivery, directing patients and loved ones, sitting and listening to patients, and in some cases offering care.
Pastoral care coordinator Reverend Leonie White, who has been serving the helpers for more than two decades, said the opportunity to contribute as a volunteer had been one of the greatest honours of her life.
“This week, we’re celebrating the work of our beautiful volunteers who come in and give of their time and of their hearts to patients who are in the hospital, patients who are sad or lonely or hurting,” she said.
“We visit all people, and all people are welcome in our space. Our role really is to be companions while people are on the way to healing, to be with people, to hear their sadness.
”We’re not there to solve anything. We’re not here to fix it. We’re here to just sit and listen and to wipe their tears, hold their hand, whatever’s needed for any particular patient at any time.
“Every volunteer would say that we receive more than we give.
“It’s such a privilege to be allowed into that vulnerable space that a patient finds themselves in.
“There’s no dignity in a hospital. We’re allowed into that space and to be beside them, and we never take that for granted. And it means the world to the volunteers that we’re welcomed into that space. We call it ‘Holy Ground’.”
Ronald McDonald House volunteer Janice Pratt spoke of the rewarding work that went into her role as a volunteer.
“If parents of patients want to talk, we will talk with them. If they need help tidying anything up, we help them with that. If someone wants us to nurse a baby or make them a cup of tea or coffee, we do that. We’re just there for them,” she said.
“I’ve been doing this for over five years now, and I, like almost every volunteer, would say I get back as much as what I put in.
“You feel like you’re helping people, and people are so thankful. My daughter used Ronald McDonald House for three months when my grandson was born. We were so thankful for their support during that time, so by being here and helping patients, this is my way of giving back.”
National Volunteer Week runs from 19 to 25 May and is recognised in all sectors around the country.
