00:00Music
00:04The best thing about it is that everyone's there for the same reason.
00:09The people. I love my people that come in here.
00:12I get the customers and they know you and they're beautiful.
00:16They're lovely.
00:17I like the camaraderie with the blokes that are here.
00:20I've formed great friendships with the other women that work here as well.
00:26I just love supporting this organisation basically because everybody in our life is touched by cancer in some ways,
00:34either personally or with a friend or family member.
00:38And it's an insidious disease that we've got to do everything we can to stop.
00:42Anything that the research people find and discover that's helping with cancer cure,
00:50it doesn't only help people in Wollongong.
00:52It helps everyone around the world because it's shared.
00:57So what the little part we do in Wollongong helps everywhere around the world.
01:03Me and my parents first started volunteering for Relay for Life back in 2007
01:09when mum was first diagnosed with thyroid cancer.
01:13Since then, I've had mum go through cancer another two to three times.
01:17I've had friends and family who have been diagnosed with cancer.
01:21Some along the way, unfortunately, lost their battle.
01:24So it's been really important for myself as well as my family and friends
01:28to really give back to what Cancer Council does for the community.
01:31We have about 600 volunteers, over 600 volunteers.
01:36And at the op shop here, we have over 20 volunteers.
01:39They have fun, they laugh and they really have made it really a community environment
01:45and a welcoming environment.
01:47So people come in not only just to shop for, grab a bargain,
01:52but they're also coming in for that connection.
01:54We enjoy interacting with the members of the community.
01:57We've got people that come down from Sydney to visit our op shop
02:01and up from Nowra as well because they've heard,
02:05oh, well, we have a reputation of caring for our customers.
02:09Besides doing the op shop, we do bags to help people.
02:13We do the farmers.
02:15We do the dignity bags for the ladies.
02:19Oh, the homeless, we do bags for the homeless hub.
02:22So everything here has its purpose.
02:28Being an ex-train driver, I found it easy to fit in.
02:33It keeps me off the streets and I get to drive those,
02:38which I didn't get to do when I was a driver.
02:42So it's something that I've wanted to do for a long time
02:46and I got to do it here.
02:49So I think that's mostly what the fellas come in here for.
02:53Admittedly, a lot of it's Centrelink, but a lot of them have stayed.
02:58They enjoy the company as well.
03:00And, yeah, we get along and have a great old time.
03:04See the kids getting happy when they come in for the rides.
03:07We have a really good diversity of volunteers here,
03:11from mechanics to people that just mow the grass,
03:15and they all get along really, really well.
03:18We have steam trains that run
03:20and you can learn how to become a steam train driver,
03:23diesel driver, guard on the train,
03:26and other things that you can do for running a railway.
03:31There's always so much to do here.
03:33Let's do this for you.
03:33Let's see.
03:34Come on.
03:35Let's do it.
03:35Now, I've been using this.
03:36Today, let's go.
03:36Here's time.
03:36Let's go.
03:36I believe this.
03:38Let's go.
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