The Haven Day Centre in Boronia meets the needs of people living with memory loss by delivering a person centre program in a warm, friendly and inclusive environment where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.
We have received six referrals and appointed an admin volunteer who is wonderful, reliable and committed. She has settled in very quickly to our routine and enjoys interacting with staff and clients at lunch time. We give a good orientation and our admin worker leaves tasks for her to do to keep her busy.
Other applicants have been accepted but then unforeseen things pop up and they don’t have the time to spare or end up in hospital. That is life…and that is ok too.
I think your service is great because you refer volunteers and educate them about their rights and responsibilities to prepare them for future roles. I would not have the time to do it myself. The team are easy to communicate and deal with and I am grateful for all you do for The Haven.
My advice for anyone wanting to include volunteers in their workplace is to give them a good orientation, make them feel part of the team, recognise their achievements and give them a defined role.
We have several volunteers and many have been long term, happy contributors. They provide valuable support to our staff. They also personally get a lot of satisfaction from volunteering.
