Volunteers are the heart and soul of Wishlist, your local hospital charity, and we’d like to pay tribute to all 150 of them in this National Volunteers Week – because without them we simply couldn’t provide the services, equipment and accommodation to improve our region’s health services.
Take Karen Dreschler for example – she’s been volunteering at the Wishlist Coffee House at Nambour Hospital for more than five years.
It continues a connection she’s had with the hospital where she worked as a nurse for most of her working life.
“I nursed for 45 years, and did many, many shifts, many hours at the Nambour Hospital I have that affinity with the hospital, and I've lived on the Sunshine Coast all my life,” Karen said.
“As a retired person, and wanting to give back there’s just so many things you could do. But to me, this one was a bit close to my heart.”
Karen said she’d seen the good work that Wishlist did in hospitals and wanted to be part of it.
“Being a charity and the people you work with, we've got a great team in Nambour,” she said.
“You look forward to it. It's a lot of fun even when you are doing something as simple as making sandwiches, talking to customers, or just being part of a nice team. It's always a good day.
“The good that it does, the team spirit and everybody's got the same goal, everybody is there to be helpful.
“It's the camaraderie. It really is a lovely place to spend some of your time.
“You know, rather than just be some people who retire and don't have an interest, to me, it's an interest. It's somewhere to go. Every Wednesday morning I'm up there. I make sure I'm there. It's a priority for me. I enjoy it very much.”
And in this Volunteers Week she has a message to anyone thinking about making a contribution in their local community.
“Oh, have a go. You know, give it a try. Just see how you feel about a situation that is like that, where you can actually give back. Give back to the community, and enjoy yourself. Have a good time.”
Thank you Karen and thank you to all our volunteers.
