For nearly half her life, Corrimal woman Annie Kersten has been volunteering at her local Vinnies shop and - on her 100th birthday - she's got no intention of stopping any time soon.
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The region's oldest volunteer, who celebrated her centenary on Saturday, spends half a day each fortnight at the Corrimal Vinnies store and takes pride in her job pricing and positioning the bric-a-brac that comes in.
"I like to do something, my motto is just keep moving - and it's a good job to help people out and make some money for the poor," she said of her commitment to keep volunteering at 100.
"I'll be still going until my last day. I feel young, maybe 80 or so, so I can't believe that I'm going to be 100."
She followed her late husband, William, into volunteering and started working with St Vincent De Paul in 1976.
The couple came to Australia in 1950 from the Netherlands, seeking a better and freer life after the second world war.
They arrived with two small children, and went on to have four more in Australia.
Annie remembers her first experience of Wollongong, living in a tent at the camping ground at Stuart Park which was popular with Dutch families in the early 1950s.
"We were there for about seven months," she said.
"We were very hungry, we had no money and one time the priest brought me a lobster. I said 'oh my god, what am I doing with a lobster?'
"I had two little kids, one was three years old and one was five months, so I went to the kiosk in the park and swapped it for two loaves of bread. The lady was happy with a lobster, and I was happy with the bread."
She said she was relieved to leave the camp ground, moving to Corrimal where her family had remained since.
Annie's daughter Wilma Kersten said her family was proud of their matriarch's commitment to helping others.
"Locally, her contribution to Corrimal, and Corrimal parish, has been tremendous - volunteering has always been in our blood," Wilma said.
"Dad always said you need to give back to the community - me and my sister are in the Lions Club and last year mum joined the Lions Club of Wollongong at age 99."
"For her, age is not a number, but we think her 100th birthday is a time to celebrate because it's an extraordinary achievement.
"Volunteering is also a comfort for her, it provides a strong social connection, and she always insists on being here at 9am sharp because that's when work starts. She's very committed."
Vinnies area manager Sarah Harris said having Annie as a volunteer was a privilege.
"It helps to enrich Annie's life, but Vinnies also gets a lot out of it," Ms Harris said.
"For me personally, it's inspiring to see her lifetime of commitment has had such a huge effect on the people we assist and it's great for the other volunteers in having that sense of community and family."
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