As part of National Volunteer Week 2022, Friends for Good would like to acknowledge and thank our amazing volunteers – we really could not function without them!
In today’s blog post, we shine the spotlight on one of our FriendLine[i] volunteers.
Rebecca[ii] has retired from paid employment as a rehabilitation therapist, where she worked mainly with blind and vision-impaired people. The organisation she worked for engaged volunteers to assist these people with such activities as crafts, music, and outings, and Rebecca observed that the volunteers' work was extremely beneficial to the organisation’s clients. This inspired her to become a volunteer herself, once she had more time to do so.
Rebecca was attracted to Friends for Good as she had noticed that many people, including some of her friends, feel uncomfortable discussing the issue of loneliness. For this reason, she is “very enthusiastic and delighted to be able to be part of FriendLine,” where people are able to call and talk about their loneliness and isolation. Rebecca reports that some callers have told her that being able to talk on the phone rather than face to face is more comfortable for them.
During her time as a FriendLine volunteer, Rebecca has found that there are many contributing factors to callers’ loneliness, including geographical distance, disability, or alienation from family and friends. Regardless of the cause, the opportunity to talk to a friendly, empathetic listener is of enormous benefit to anyone experiencing feelings of loneliness and isolation.
Thank you, Rebecca, for your wonderful contribution to the work and mission of Friends for Good!
[i] FriendLine is a phone line for anyone who needs to reconnect or just wants a chat. All conversations are anonymous and confidential, and no personally identifiable information is retained by Friends for Good. For more information about FriendLine, please visit http://friendline.org.au/.
[ii] The name has been changed to protect the volunteer’s privacy.
