The 'yellow shirts' who help and inspire

Many hands make light work, and at the Sydney Adventist Hospital a lot of those hands are volunteers.

More than 300 helpers, dressed in their distinctive yellow shirts - were celebrated at the hospital – also known as the San – during National Volunteer Week 2023 in May.

Volunteers Team Manager Patrina McLean said more than 20,000 volunteer hours had been clocked in the past calendar year alone.

"Since volunteers started in 1973, they have contributed more than 1,749,501 hours to the San," she said.

"The San is so blessed to have such generous people who contribute their time.

"There will always be something else to do with our time, there will always be somewhere else we can be, but our San volunteers choose to be at the San.

"Volunteers give of their time because they have a heart, and a caring heart always finds kindness and happiness to share."

Volunteers at the San contribute in a number of ways, including helping visitors find their way around the hospital, sort stock, work in the hospital gift shop, chat to patients, and provide tea and coffee in several wards and departments.

They also help in the cancer centre, driving patients, facilitating cancer support groups, and helping in the wig library.

This year 22 volunteers were awarded for significant years of service ranging from 10 years to 25 years.

"Our oldest and most inspiring volunteer, John Bulley, is 95 years of age," Ms McLean said.

"He volunteers every week, and our staff and patients look forward to seeing him.

"Our youngest volunteer, Victoria, is 24 and she is very dedicated. She travels a long way, driving past dozens of other hospitals because she says the San has the best volunteer program."

For John Luschwitz, volunteering at New South Wales' largest private hospital is personal.

He started out after his wife died at the San, and has racked up 7,000 hours in the past 10 years.

"They were very kind to us when we were travelling that journey, and it is a real honour and a privilege to be working with some beautiful people, and to help support patients and their families during their hospital stay," Mr Luschwitz said.

His first volunteer role was helping in the San Snax Café.

"I did a lot of washing up," he said with a laugh.

"I struggled to make my own sandwiches let alone make them for someone else, but I was very good at doing the dishes."

Mr Luschwitz soon found his true calling on Level 6, the oncology and palliative care ward, where he does most of his volunteering.

He talks with patients and their families and considers it a special honour to spend time with patients nearing the end of life who have no family nearby to visit them.

As a long-serving Justice of the Peace, he also helps people with documents, and he is often seen carrying trays of hot drinks from the cafeteria as a caring gesture for staff.

The San has a long history of supportive ex-patients, ex-staff, and local community members who regularly volunteer at the hospital.

Ms McLean said that in addition to the very practical help they gave throughout the hospital, they were also a great source of comfort and companionship to patients, and an encouragement to staff.

Read more: Volunteers the heart of private hospitals

Read more: 'Thrive Week' celebrates staff success

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