The Christmas season may sharpen the dull pains of loneliness, as seniors yearn for their loved ones who have died, or reminisce about happy celebrations in their family home.
An absence or shortage of satisfying social and emotional ties can be harmful and even deadly to seniors. Loneliness and social isolation are serious public health concerns because they are linked to far-ranging health problems.
Together, we can change that.
For many years, Volunteering Gold Coast’s amazing volunteers have improved the quality of many seniors’ lives through companionship. Combating loneliness and isolation is very common in nursing homes and residential homes. Our volunteers create a special bond with their clients by providing weekly visits.
A little time and a few words of kindness can make a world of difference to someone.
Donate today and help Volunteering Gold Coast to provide training and assistance to the volunteers that change the lives of many isolated seniors on the Gold Coast!
It’s a heart-wrenching dilemma that Win was faced with but one that she needed to make for her husband. After her husband’s health deteriorated from dementia, it was determined he needed constant and supervised care. Win being 88 herself couldn’t provide the kind of care he needed and now was faced with being separated from her husband with limited transport options to go visit him.
By Herself. Every day. Every week. For months. Win was determined to visit her husband. Despite her not being able to drive long distances or have the money always for a taxi Win would visit him every day. This became a financial burden for her on top of her husband’s health.
With these challenges in mind, it became clear that having someone drive her there would be a great help in providing freedom and independence to visit her husband regularly. Volunteering Gold Coast was able to provide a cheaper and safer alternative for Win so that she could continue visiting her husband every day without the financial burdens.
“I think it is an extremely important service for both the recipient and their family. It’s a win, win, situation because a loving family who has given permission for their loved one to have a Community Visitor Scheme volunteer will be comforted to know that their family member in a Nursing Home will have a person who will just pop in for a chat at least once a week.”
Even though Nursing Homes have a lot of activities for their Clients, as people get older they lose their eyesight so they no longer watch tv, read, do crafts or participate in activities that need better eyesight. Or they can be physically unable to go because it’s just too hard.
“For the past two years, I have visited three beautiful ladies every week Beverley, Margaret and Sarah. I was worried about how I would feel if one past away, this happened Christmas last year but I was so thankful that I spent time with Beverley because her family knew someone was visiting her when they couldn’t. Plus I have a lovely memory of a lovely person.”
To continue reading Jacky’s story as a CVS volunteer please head to the link below
allows the running of 3 community transport vehicles at full capacity for 4 weeks
helps to recruit & train volunteers to visit elderly Gold Coast residents at risk of isolation
supports ongoing repairs, maintenance and upgrades of accessible beach equipment
allows us to modify 1 of our transport Hi-Aces to include wheelchair access for 2 wheelchairs
“Volunteering Gold Coast is a great help in my life before I was catching taxis back and forth. With VGC the prices are so much more affordable and accommodating to my schedule. If I could say anything about the volunteer drivers is that they are such wonderful people, I couldn’t give them enough praise.”
Volunteer Community Driver’s Client
