GOULBURN Valley Hospice Care is now recruiting people to join their active volunteer program. GV Hospice Care is a palliative care service which provides specialised care to people who are living with life-limiting illnesses.
Wendy Ross, CEO said “Our volunteers do a wonderful job. The demand for client care volunteers is growing, along with the significant number of clients accessing the service. Our focus is on early referral, symptom support and improving Quality of Life. The volunteers work to provide support to both the person with the illness and the family and carers. Volunteer care could include an outing, a chat, reading a book or newspaper to the person, or even freeing up the client’s carer to have a short break once a week”.
GV Hospice has a diverse team of volunteers. They come from a variety of backgrounds, men and women of all ages provide support to their clients. Maree Chin, co-ordinator of volunteers says “We are always looking for anyone who is willing to give around an hour of their spare time each week to care for others. It would be especially good to recruit people from non-English speaking backgrounds so that we can provide greater support to our clients who come from similar cultures.”
Volunteers are selected for their warmth and understanding, emotional maturity, acceptance of others, and their ability to respect confidentiality. All volunteers are required to undertake a 9-week training course. The next course commences on Wednesday, April 17 from 9.30am-12.30pm. For more information or an application form, please contact Maree on 5822 0068 or email mareec@hospice.shepparton.net.au.
