Volunteer Village Welcomes First Villagers
Palliative Care Queensland’s new training facility opened its doors last week and held its first training session on Monday for healthcare professionals and community members keen to become part of the peak body’s volunteering program.
Volunteer Village Coordinator, Annette Lourigan outlined the mission and purpose of the Volunteer Village “Volunteer Village exists to connect health professionals and community members with Palliative Care Queensland Programs, and to provide them with the training and support required to be able to give their time safely as they support programs related to their areas of interest.”
“We aim to build a community, our Volunteer Village, consisting of Villagers who can work with us to support our services, initiatives such as Ambulance Wish Queensland and Last Aid. The concept is based on the African proverb ‘It takes a village to raise a child’ where an entire community of people must interact with children for those children to experience and grow. Our role is to facilitate the development of our volunteers so that they can grow in a safe and healthy environment.”
The session on Monday saw eight volunteers inducted featured presentations from key Palliative Care Queensland staff, provision of resources and tools as well as an introduction to Betty, Ambulance Wish Queensland’s Ambulance.
“As an association, volunteers are critical to our success, and we are truly thankful to everyone who attended the session and became our first Villagers.”
The first Villagers of the Volunteer Village are:
- Rachel Kluck (Ambulance Wish)
- Sue Neale (Ambulance Wish)
- Amy Gomes (Ambulance Wish)
- Natasha Cioni (Ambulance Wish)
- Kim Hiscox
- Debra Dane
- Linda Michie
- Colleen Ogilvie
“Our Villager’s passions range from those who want to be part of Ambulance Wish, those who would like to help us with events, administration, projects including proofreading and data collation.”
“To ensure that we cover all the requirements for each of the areas that we have at PCQ our inductees after they have taken part in the umbrella induction, had light refreshments before being split into their areas of interest and the inductions are continued.”
“We are honoured to have an amazing group of people go through our induction session; each of them brings experiences and wisdom that will enhance all of Palliative Care Queensland’s arms. Their feedback to us on the day will be of great value, though currently, all the feedback that we have from them is positive.”
“We are in the process of finalising our training calendar as we refine the sessions according to feedback from our first inductees and will publish details on www.palliativecareqld.org.au,” said Annette.
About Annette
Annette has actively been volunteering in community since she can remember and has been part of volunteer teams who have contributed to society in areas of safe child care, clothing for the homeless, advocacy for gender parity, community engagement and fund raising.
Annette’s appreciation for palliative care started in 1997 when she became a funeral director on the Sunshine Coast and took a lady into care who had died peacefully at home, encircled by a garland of flowers from her garden and most importantly her Daughters. It was the very peacefulness of such a gentle dying that stirred Annette’s passion for a community that better understood the rights and rites around compassionate and holistic end of life care.
In 2003 she became a member of Palliative Care Qld, she has contributed during that time to submissions, community education and forums, as well as being a member of State Council.
During her 23 year career in the funeral sector she promoted the introduction of cardboard coffins and the importance of good end of life planning for all. She will tell you that her most important role ever is being the Mum of her daughter, Hayley.
Annette’s role is supported by funding from Eastern Star Foundation.
