International Volunteer Day With Volunteer Don Smailes
The International Volunteer Day (“IVD”) for Economic and Social Development takes place annually on 5 December and is an international observance which was first mandated by the UN General Assembly in 1985. The day offers an opportunity for volunteer-involving organisations and individuals to promote volunteerism. It also encourages governments to promote such efforts and acknowledge the contributions of volunteers to the wider achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (“SDGs”) at local, national, and international levels.
At Seaforth Gardens Aged Care Centre (“Seaforth Gardens”), Don Smailes has been volunteering his time and skills since 2011. Don’s connection to the Centre first stems to when his now 97-year-old mother came to the Seaforth Gardens for respite in 2010. As Don’s mother’s dementia progressed, her doctor recommended she move into full-time care, and Don became a volunteer at the Centre where his mother now resides, shortly after his retirement. Prior to his retirement, Don worked as a Physical Education teacher with a plethora of skills and a bus driver’s license, which the then Occupational Therapist at the Centre, quickly tapped into.
Don has been involved in various volunteering projects at the Centre including the resident- favourite ice cream runs and the annual Christmas light outing, which involves a seaside dinner in Fremantle, followed by a drive by the famous ‘Christmas light street’ in the suburb of Thornlie. Before the Centre’s annual ball, Don also volunteered to teach the residents to dance and, more recently, he offered his home to run the Men’s Shed social outing. “Another volunteer used to run a Men’s Shed activity,” he explains. “His father died, so he stood aside, and staff asked me to help. I have a beautiful Hills property within 15 minutes of Seaforth Gardens. We started taking six-to-seven men to Walliston for tea and cake and a variety of activities, like bird watching, ceramics and so on,” he tells.
When asked what he finds most rewarding about being a volunteer at Seaforth Gardens, Don notes: “The best part about volunteering for Seaforth Gardens, is the friends I have made and the joy it brings to older folk, many who have no other visitors.” For Don, he notes that this is not only a labour of love, but a simple way he can give back to the Centre, which has looked after his Mother for over thirteen years. “Seaforth Gardens Aged Care Centre have taken such wonderful loving care of my Mother for so long; how else can I repay them?”
When it comes to considering volunteering, Don notes it’s a straight-forward process. “Consider your skills, find the right people in management, and develop their trust, and jump through the usual hoops like ‘Working with Elders’ and the new NDIS clearance. Neither is a big problem, and the Chaplain and relevant staff can help you with this project,” he says.
Please see The Salvation Army’s website here for volunteering opportunities. For volunteering opportunities relating to aged care, please email your nearest Centre.
