Volunteer Profile: Kerry Templeton

Kerry is no stranger to volunteering, in fact, she’s been volunteering for close to forty years! Starting with volunteering at her kids’ schools, helping with their sports teams, and any fundraising or community events — she loves to volunteer and simply can’t get enough of it. Kerry also has volunteered with Volunteering Gold Coast for over four years now after she heard a call out on the radio for volunteers.

“I was actually at home listening to the radio and the CEO at the time was talking about VGC and volunteering and I was thinking ‘I could do that’. So I started in admin in transport on the phones and it went from there, I then started going as a social support person as the driver’s assistant on the outings, then started driving. So it’s just been progressing on and on.”

Kerry bubbly and approachable by nature loves being around people and especially loves helping our clients as well as enjoying her time as well. “It’s satisfactory to me that they’re having a good day out. I class the social outings as my day out; even though I’m working I’m enjoying it too.” When asked why she loved volunteering at VGC she had such passion when she proclaimed she did it for the clients, “I do it for those that need it, the enjoyment of me being able to go out and take them out for the day brings such joy to them, and to me.”

Volunteering can be not only beneficial to those you’re helping but to yourself and Kerry agrees with this strongly, “Just the amount of satisfaction you can get out of helping other people. When I first started a lot of my friends were like ‘What do you do that for, you don’t get paid?’ and I said yes I do,” Kerry points to her heart and we silently agree with the understanding that it’s so much more than that. “I didn’t go into it for money, I got into it because it’s what I can give back to society and to people that need it.”

As for what Kerry gets up to in her free time she jokes that she doesn’t get much free time but that’s only because she’s enjoying time with her volunteering, children and her twelve grandkids. A massive family person Kerry used to live in Papua New Guinea for nine and half years, “I loved it there, I was involved in the theatre, played golf, I was involved in the kid’s school. Then we moved to Australia.” With the free time though that she finds Kerry enjoys her Diamond Art hobby, “I love doing Diamond Art, it’s like painting with numbers but instead, it’s beads or gems. I actually gave seven away for Christmas presents last year, all different sizes and pictures, I really enjoy making and gifting them.”

Kerry’s final advice to live by? “I take each day as it comes, if there are changes that happen I just learn to adapt.” Kerry applies this to her volunteering work as well as her personal life and always looks at things in a positive light. We appreciate having Kerry with us at VGC and look forward to many more great years ahead!