“I first became involved with St Clare when someone from my Church started the Ongar Friends group and was looking for a treasurer to help. I had retired from my job as a nurse and so had time to help out. When I came to St Clare to drop off our fundraising donations I saw that there were other volunteer jobs available. So I decided to become a volunteer driver!”
“My role as a Volunteer Driver involves collecting a lady or gentleman who is attending the Day Therapy group and driving them to the Hospice. The groups run from 10am-3pm, so I usually pick them up from their home anywhere from just after nine to bring them to St Clare. Then, I introduce them to the Day Therapy staff, and make sure they’re happy, and then I go home and come back just before 3pm.”
“When I collect them, I listen to what they’ve done during the day – I have a wonderful rapport with most of the people – and take them safely home. My work at St Clare gives their carer a whole day to do something for themselves.”
“I hope that my role helps the patient by putting them at ease, because a lot of people are quite nervous before they attend the hospice. Yet, having been here for so long now, I know what a wonderful job they do – I’m able to talk patients through any of their worries. When I take them home, I always say ask if they have had a lovely day and I can truthfully say 99% of them have had a fantastic day and can’t wait to come the following week.”
“The most rewarding thing about volunteering at St Clare is just giving something back. I’ve had, on the whole, a very happy life, and I just feel that if you can give something back to somebody or to an organisation, why not do it? It can make such a difference to people.”
“St Clare is such a warm, helpful place, helping at a very difficult time in people’s lives. People often say to me, ‘isn’t it depressing?’ and I can truthfully say that I have never gone home depressed, and I don’t think that any of the patients that I bring in are depressed either. In fact, in my car, we have a lot of laughter, and surely that’s what life is all about.”
“If you’ve never been to a hospice, whichever hospice it is, a lot of them have fundraising events. Go along, and just see how happy people are. Perhaps that might encourage you to do something, either fundraising or volunteering, yourself.”
– Gill