Penelope’s motivation to touch the lives of those who are lonely or isolated

Penelope’s volunteering journey began over 16 years ago when her father was living in a nursing home in Canberra. “During my visits I’d notice the names of Dad’s visitors in the visitor book. The difference these people made in his life was so clear.” Months later when Penelope noticed an ad for CatholicCare’s Community Visitors Scheme in her parish bulletin it just seemed like the right thing to do. Penelope hoped that by volunteering her time she could give back what her Dad received.

Penelope is a volunteer in CatholicCare’s Community Visitors Scheme. Volunteers visit people in aged care homes and others living independently right across the Diocese. In most cases the people we visit are lonely and have very few family members or friends living nearby. Volunteers offer friendship and conversation.

Over the 16 years Penelope has been matched with six people, each of whom has widened her horizons and enriched her life in unique ways.

“The lady I am matched with now has both children and all her grandchildren living overseas. She is blind and really misses reading. We spend the first 15 minutes of each visit chatting and then I read to her. She chooses what we read, and I never know what it will be next week!”

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Talking to people comes naturally to Penelope. “Volunteers can lend their skills whether it be computers or gardening, or something else. Look at the need, look at what you can contribute and just go from there”, she says.

The NSW State of Volunteering Report (2021) revealed that in 2020, nearly 4.9 million residents of NSW gave their time as a volunteer. Volunteers contributed over 1.5 billion hours in 2020, with individuals volunteering for an average of 5.6 hours each week. Volunteering has numerous benefits on our health and happiness, with “givers” being more than 42% more likely than non-givers to say they were “very happy.”

For Penelope, she sees herself as being somewhat of “a missing daughter,” a role that she treasures and doesn’t take lightly. “At the end of the day,” Penelope says, “it’s my Christian duty to help people. If you can make a little difference to the life of someone else, it is a blessing.”

Would you like to volunteer for an organisation with exceptional values? Are you passionate about achieving positive outcomes for seniors? We welcome you to take the leap!

Contact Nicki now on 0418 435 304 or visit www.catholiccaredbb.org.au/volunteer