Having spent 48 years as a critical care nurse, Whanganui’s Lou Lilly now enjoys volunteering as a way to fulfil that innate need to care for others.
Lou has been volunteering with the Cancer Society for about three years. She says she got into it when another volunteer, whose relative she had nursed, suggested she’d be fantastic as a volunteer driver, a role he was doing.
She signed up and started driving people across to and back from their treatments at Palmerston North Hospital, a round trip she continues to make regularly.
Since then, her volunteering has expanded through another chance connection at her local dog park. While up exercising and socialising her dog Zoe, Lou met a woman who was making breast cushions for the Cancer Society.
“I said if ever you need a hand, yell out and then she came back and said they need bags to hold the medinorms (the drains from surgical wounds), and I thought I could do that, so I've just started making them.”
Lou has also been paired up with an elderly lady at a local retirement village who has recently been diagnosed with cancer and she pops in to offer companionship and support on a weekly basis, as part of the Supportive Care Home Visitor scheme.
All up she estimates she spends about a day per week fulfilling her volunteer duties which she says fills her cup.
“I enjoy the volunteering I think because I've basically given nearly all my life to being a nurse. It gives me that social contact and it's nice to be able to continue to help someone in need.”
The Cancer Society wishes to take the opportunity this National Volunteer Week to thank all the amazing volunteers who, just like Lou give their time, energy and enthusiasm to support its work. If you’re keen to find out more about how you can get involved in volunteering with the Cancer Society head to cancer.org.nz/get-involved/volunteer/
