Jenan Taylor
19 October 2023
A Burwood parishioner’s voluntary service in a hospital, with babies and children in the community, and people near the end of life, has been recognised in the Victorian Senior of the Year Awards program.
St Thomas’ Burwood member Annette Ward was one of 14 recipients whose unwavering hard work, dedication and selflessness was honoured with a Council of The Ageing Victoria Senior Achiever Award.
Ms Ward mentored other volunteers in the Box Hill Hospital emergency department for 17 years and contributed her talents as a pastoral carer for 18 years at St Thomas’, focussing on beginning-of-life and end-of-life support.
She also volunteered at the church’s playgroup in that time.
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A cradle Anglican, Ms Ward said she volunteered because she loved having deep, and ongoing connections with people.
She said it gave her opportunities as a Christian to be able to share the gospel of Jesus with those who requested it.
Ms Ward said volunteering also gave her the chance to make a difference in areas of life that she’d always longed to be involved with during her formal working years as a business administrator.
She said caring for babies and children, and giving people near the end of life the best support and companionship possible, was a particular passion.
It gave her some of her richest experiences, Ms Ward said.
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Ms Ward said her love for volunteering developed during her school days at Camberwell Grammar where she had many role models who would give of their time and skills to social service projects.
Her parents and grandparents’ readiness to help others played a large role, too.
More recently, the encouragement of the Reverend Christopher Appleby and his wife Diane Appleby, and Spiritual Health Association chief executive Cheryl Holmes was particularly inspiring.
“I love the fact that I can learn from people who are younger than me, and that people I knew since they were teenagers could later become inspirational in my life,” Ms Ward said.
The annual COTA Victoria Senior Achiever Awards are usually only given to 10 people.
Chief executive Chris Potaris said the larger number this year attested the tremendous impact of the 14 Victorian seniors on their local communities and across the state.
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