Wollongong Meals on Wheels Volunteers | Illawarra Mercury | October 25, 2024 - video Dailymotion

Wollongong Meals on Wheels volunteers explain why they give back to their community on the service's 60th anniversary.  Video by Brady Moffatt

Transcript

00:00Why do you do what you do in Melzonga?

00:02Because I love to give back to the community.

00:04Yeah, I just enjoy doing it and going around and having a look and talking to people.

00:10Yeah, it's a bit of an experience for me because I come from the country and I'm not used to being in a big city like this.

00:19It's just giving back to the community.

00:22It's so enriching to be able to come to work and amongst people that care

00:27and have compassion for the vulnerable people out there.

00:30It's such a great working environment to be in.

00:33And to know that you've finished your day and you've helped X amount of people with food.

00:39People that wouldn't normally be able to be mobile to be able to go out and buy and cook their own food.

00:48So it's just rewarding and satisfying at the end of the day.

00:52I think it's an important service.

00:54I'm 75 myself and may one day be in need of such a service.

00:59It would be nice to know it's still around in another 60 years.

01:02Why do you do what you do for Melzonga?

01:04Well, I'm retired now so I like to give something back to the community.

01:10I like talking to the old people when we deliver their meals.

01:15A lot of them are lonely and love for a bit of a chat.

01:19Why do you do what you do for Melzonga?

01:22Just to give back to the community.

01:24Myself, I've spent years working and dealing with the elderly in my upholstery profession.

01:32And this was a way to connect again.

01:36Because I know from that experience that the oldies just love to see someone have a chat.

01:42What's it like working in Melzonga?

01:43I love it. It's great. It's very refreshing.

01:46It's something different.

01:48I finished my uni degree and I wanted to have something that was in social services.

01:53I've always wanted to help people.

01:54And this was a really good opportunity for me because I actually connected with it on a personal level.

02:02Where I would look at the clients that come in and I would feel like I was helping out one of my great grandparents or something like that.

02:11Who I didn't really have an opportunity to be super close with when I was younger.

02:15Every client that comes in, I want to give them the level of care that I want the important people in my life to receive as well.

02:23So that's why it's really rewarding working here and feeling like I know I'm doing that for others.

02:28And hopefully they feel that.