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"To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world."
Bill Wilson
Celebrating our volunteers- meet Liz and Laura

There’s a  saying that “Volunteers do not necessarily have the time, they just have the heart.” (Elizabeth Andrew)

Our Twilight Family volunteers certainly have heart, and also manage to find the time, energy and commitment to connect with our residents in ways that can truly change lives, for both parties.

As we celebrate Volunteer Week 2025 with gatherings across all of our five Twilight Homes, two of our Volunteer program participants have offered to share their story and their perspective, a particularly nice story demonstrating that volunteering isn’t a one way street. The volunteers may learn new skills from their companion as much as the other way around, especially when it’s a lovely intergenerational match.

Meet Liz, Glades Bay Garden  resident, and Laura, the volunteer Liz was paired with through Twilight’s comprehensive program run by our Volunteer Coordinator Tweety Kwok. 

Liz
How do you feel about having a volunteer, and how has Laura fit into your lifestyle at Glades Bay Gardens?
 
Laura fits into my life story very happily. I have become very close to Laura as a friend and she helps me with my family tree which we have nearly finished and I am very happy to have her in my life. We are always laughing and having fun. She helps me if I need to buy things or organise things in my room. 
 
What’s  the thing you’ve done so far ( or started, such as a project) that brings you the most fulfilment?
 
We have worked on my family tree almost every visit and have made great progress in creating a book with my entire family in it. We have also done some sewing projects together which was lots of fun. We made napkins and tablecloths for the residents of  my Glades Bay Gardens home. We have also looked through family photos to upload into the family tree. We have made a legacy presentation of  our former CEO Neil, who recently passed away which was a special project, and we will add it to the Glades Bay Book. 
 
Laura
How did you come to volunteer in aged care – were you already a volunteer or is Liz your first connection?
 
I applied to become a volunteer just before the COVID-19 outbreak. It was about a year until I was able to be paired with a companion and that is when I first met Liz. She is my first connection and I was very happy to meet her after a long wait. We had a rocky start with all the lock downs due to outbreaks, but we continued talking with phone calls and messages and our friendship grew. 
 
How do you find volunteering for Twilight, is there anything in particular you have experienced that you’d like to share? 
 
I thoroughly enjoy volunteering here at Twilight. I find Glades Bay Gardens  very warm and welcoming and they have looked after us very well. We always have a fun project to work on, I especially enjoyed Liz teaching me how to sew and use a sewing machine. That was a huge laugh as I was learning and managed a straight line in the end. We also work very hard on her family tree and now have over 5000 connections in her family book. We have made some great discoveries and found many photos of family members. We had a great time at the Christmas Lunch and it was very nice to meet more residents and staff here at Twilight.

Thank you so much Liz and Laura, for sharing your experiences with us. 

Happy Volunteers Week to all the volunteers in our Twilight Family and  the community- you are amazing.

Are you interested in volunteering? 

You can find out more here or to contact Twilight about volunteering in one of our homes, you can click HERE for details.

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