- In short: The Tandara Lodge Nursing Home Auxiliary will finish up after nearly 45 years because the members are ageing and cannot find new volunteers
- What's next? A senior nurse at the aged care home says extra people will be hired to help, but it will almost impossible to replace the care and warmth provided by the volunteer group
After nearly 45 years of service, a volunteer group dedicated to brightening the lives of aged care residents in Tasmania's north-west will finish up next month.
Tandara Lodge Nursing Home Auxiliary was instrumental in converting, Tandara, former maternity hospital into a home for the ageing and then raising money for it by doing what they knew best — cooking.
Ann Ridgway has volunteered with Tandara since its inception.
"A few of us moved in with the dust, and we scrubbed, and we cleaned, and we made, and we just grew with Tandara," she said.
"Tandara, for all of us, means a lot. It's home to the community."
The women bought furniture, made the curtains, even donated their own sets of cutlery.
Since getting it off the ground, they have raised thousands of dollars a year for the home — purchasing specialised equipment and refitting bedrooms as the facility expanded.
Every resident gets a card and handkerchief for their birthday and a gift for Christmas.
But for fellow volunteer Dawn Connors, the most important donation is time.
"If you went into a resident's room and they were very sad, and all of a sudden a smile came on their face because somebody said hello, that meant more to our auxiliary than all the money that we could raise," she said.
For some volunteers, Tandara has gone on to become their own home, or that of a loved one.
For Ms Ridgway, it was her late husband.
"He was well and truly cared for," she said.
"When the girls used to walk past his room, they'd all stop and have a chat and he'd have something stupid to say, as he did."
The volunteer group is winding up because new volunteers just aren't signing up.
"We were all young when Tandara started and now age has caught up with every one of us," Ms Ridgway said.
"We feel we've done what we set out to do, and so … we're going out very grateful."
Hiring replacements 'won't offer same personal touch'
Director of Nursing Gaye Mack said the auxiliary brought "heart and soul" to the lodge and brightened residents' days.
"We've got some residents that don't have family, so [the auxiliary] coming in and just doing their shopping with them, just spending time with them, was really heartwarming because that gives them a better outlook on life," she said.
The lodge will now have to pay for new equipment or anything extra residents need.
Ms Mack said she was employing additional staff to fill the void, but did not think they would offer the same personal touch.
"We don't have the time to spend with all the residents that (the volunteers) had," she said.
"They might see 15 residents, and it would take a few hours to do that, because everyone wants to have a chat."
'Communities suffer'
Volunteering is on the decline across the nation.
Volunteering Australia chief executive Mark Pearce said there had been a drop off during COVID, and although numbers had come back, they had not fully recovered.
"Social things have changed, community has changed, expectations have changed, people are looking for more choice, they're looking for more flexibility, and they're looking for more agency in how they spend their time and how they participate within their communities," he said.
Mr Pearce said with more people working, they had less time to offer.
He also said cost of living issues impacted on volunteers, who often incur out-of-pocket expenses.
"Volunteering is essential to every community throughout Australia," he said.
"If we see a decline in volunteer numbers, if we see a decline in participation rates, communities suffer, those things that we come to rely upon and expect from community just aren't available."
He said ensuring volunteers had a positive experience, and governments resourced and acknowledged its importance was critical.
"Understanding that volunteers sit at the very core of every community participation is really important, and that's the way that will improve the engagement and participation within volunteering," he said.
