“50 years ago our first volunteers helped establish Warrigal as a service in the Illawarra on the top of Mt Warrigal,” CEO Stephen Beard said. 

“Now, 50 years on, our 350-strong brigade of volunteers is still enriching the lives of older people - creating inspiring moments every day. 

“Not only are they making a contribution to the local community, they’re bringing our vision to life: that older people will have great lives.”

This includes people like Mary Slater. Mary won the Warrigal Chairman’s Award for volunteering last year and has been a volunteer at Warrigal for the past 10 years in the Albion Park Rail Residential Care Home. 

She says she loves to make a difference to the lives of other people. You can often overhear Mary at the café saying to customers, “I’ll make this one with that special ingredient … love”.

Being a part of the ‘Warrigal family’ is very important to her and she loves nothing more than to share her time and her amazing cooking skills (her scones are a big hit with the residents!). 

Her attitude to “embrace life and make it a worthwhile one” is reflected in her level of commitment to making everyone feel happy and connected. 

“We love the inspiration she brings with her every week,” he said.

Warrigal has around 350 registered volunteers providing an invaluable support to their residents and customers each year. Volunteers teach new skills, help run events, drive buses, garden, fundraise  and generally positively impact the lives of older people.

“We want to take this opportunity during National Volunteer Week to say thank you to not just our volunteers, but all volunteers. 

“Thank you for being yourself. Thank you for being part of something bigger than yourself. And thank you for being here for good.” #HereforGood

To find out more about Warrigal or how you can become a volunteer go to warrigal.com.au or phone 1800 WARRIGAL.