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Video title: Volunteering with Grant
Video duration: 5:22
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Video transcript
So when I was unable to play bowels, I thought I needed to do something. I had all of this experience and things. So I went and I started with Volunteer Central and then someone said you might like to be a host at the rugby museum, and I'm a nutter about rugby, so I went down there. I've made some great friends.
I do one morning every four weeks at the rugby museum and then Manawatū prisoners Aid Rehabilitation Society, wanted board members and I have a long association through with courts and with prisons and things, so I'm on that board as a governance role. And then I've done a few one offs like wacky Water Day at Rosslyn and put My Hand Up and went.
And it was a very well, I was the old fulla and there was a little young fulla about 25 years and we were in charge of car parking, getting the cars back and making sure everything was right. standing in the sun four or 5 hours. But it was fun. It was real fun. And then we had the street thing where we did the popcorn and candyfloss, and then.
Scott: That was chaos.
Grant: Was chaos, Kate’s husband, we barbecued for the US Navy when they did something up at the park and somebody asked about episodic volunteering. I find that they are. The one offs are really good and I actually need to step myself out. So I put my name down and then for a few weeks before hand i think, the hell would I do that for?
And as I get closer, I get quite excited, you know i go and I enjoy it. What it's done for me is allowed me to transfer skills to other people. And I always used to mentor people when I was working to, um, to encourage people to do look outside themselves. I'm inspired by the quality of the people who are volunteering and the and the range of abilities.
And they say you should never judge a book by its cover. Well, some of the people who come into our office and you think, look at them and as I’m registering them and and then they start to tell their stories and my mind's going flat out, well, you know, this one might be suitable, this one might be suitable. It gives me a great deal of pleasure in working three mornings a week with Kate, and that is a hoot.
There's more laughter and noise coming from our office in the rest of the building. I'm surprised we haven't been to more occasions. There’s a sort of satisfaction. I get a great deal of satisfaction out of it. And even though my knees prevent me from doing some of the things, I think, well, you know, I've got these other abilities. I've got a grandchild with challenges.
And she's never ever talked about having disability. She's like I’ve got different abilities and it’s extremely inspiring to me. So she's teaching me really and I just think there's so much, when I was in Australia, people would say, with my friends would say, Oh, there's a nutter because I say goodbye to everybody in the street.
I was living by myself. So the first person I saw walking to the train in the morning, I'd speak to, you know, just a good morning. And I speak, even here if people look at me when I say, Oh, good morning, how are you? But for a lot of the older people I see out walking in the morning, I'm probably the first person they see and speak to.
So I have a group of walking ladies around the Rosslyn area. We have a smile, and how are you and the weather and everything. So you know I'm winding.
You can see the change in them because somebody's spoken to them. Yeah. So you know I think that's part of volunteering isn’t it. The volunteering gets me out and exercising. So one thing leads to another and.
Guest: They all help each other?
Grant: Yeah. It's, a cycle of life and getting on and. But I am truly, I went to this recognition ceremony the other day for volunteers and I was humbled by what other people were doing. Really humbled.
Scott: Totally agree.
Grant: And it was 97, 85 year old lady who'd been doing, she’d set up at the club and then she'd done it in every role when she was still away. And then probably 30 something years of service. It was just it was it was really humbling.
Last updated on Tuesday, 18 July 2023