‘NINA would not exist without volunteers’

Ahead of National Volunteer Week (May 16-22), Northern Illawarra Neighbour Aid manager Sharon Gissane asked local volunteer Alison Ainsworth to share her story.

Tell me about yourself.

I live in the Burgh with my husband and two kids and have been here for nearly 13 years. As a child I lived in Thirroul, and I feel lucky to have lived in the area most of my life, close to the beach and bush. Besides enjoying these two things, I love Aussie rules football and have supported the Sydney Swans ever since going to my first game at the SCG over 30 years ago.

For the past two years I have been studying my master’s in public health at the University of Sydney and am completing my final semester. Before then, I had a corporate job as a business events manager and I can thank Covid for leading me to this career change, which I am enjoying and embracing.

As well as studying, this year I started working with Healthy Cities Illawarra, assisting with some of their health promotion programs, and I started volunteering with NINA about seven months ago.

Why did you start volunteering?

When our 2021 lockdown was coming to an end, I wanted to help the local community and do something that aligned with my public health interests. The thing I love about public health is that it is all about supporting the health and wellbeing of communities and addressing inequality.

NINA provides transport, meals and social support to community members, allowing people to access the services they need, visit loved ones, maintain social connection and live independently.

People in the community need to have these basic things in place for good health, and this is what drew me to volunteer with NINA.

There is also a lot of evidence that volunteering is good for health and wellbeing, and it makes me feel like I’m doing something valuable and more connected to the community. After lockdown, I was also a bit desperate to get out of the house, do something different and see different people, after all the studying and home schooling!

How do you fit everything in?

It can be a challenge juggling everything. But I love the fact that NINA is incredibly flexible, and my volunteer work fits in around everything else going on. My availability can vary week to week, depending on casual work and study commitments, and I can accept as little or as much work as I’m able to do.

Over the summer school holidays I needed to take my kids with me to transport some clients. The NINA staff made sure the clients wouldn’t mind, and my kids thoroughly enjoyed the outings – they are still talking about the lovely clients they met!

What have you got from being a volunteer?

It has made me feel more a part of the community and feel like I am giving something back.

NINA provides a wide range of training throughout the year, including first aid and CPR, manual handling, dementia awareness and much more. The training sessions have all been valuable and a nice opportunity to get together with other volunteers and share experiences.

The NINA staff are very supportive, caring and flexible and host some wonderful social events to show their appreciation to volunteers.

I have met and enjoyed working with many other volunteers who were very welcoming when I started. Some of the volunteers have been with NINA for decades, which is incredibly inspiring.

NINA would not exist without volunteers, and it is a much-needed community service that we all might depend on one day.

Visit the NINA office at 18 Walker Street, call 4294 1900 or follow @northernillawarraneighbouraid on Facebook.