Reflections from a volunteer - by Debra Landini
‘Every second Sunday I drive out to Heather’s house and walk for Joy! Not Joy the person, but Joy the thing. I actually do walk for Heather who is vision impaired, and for Blind Sports who support those who are blind or vision impaired, and I walk for me. It’s a win-win-win situation. But altogether it adds up to walking for Joy!
What could be better than walking in the sunshine, fresh air and breeze? Walking with someone else in the sunshine, fresh air and breeze.
I’ve lost track of the time I’ve been walking with Heather because it doesn’t really matter - we get on really well. Interestingly, our lives are very different and our backgrounds too, but we actually have a lot in common right now. When we walk, we talk, and talk and talk. We exchange news of the past fortnight, and plans for the next fortnight. The walking and talking comes easy.
Amazingly the weather has been on our side every time, but we figure we’ll go to a shopping centre if the weather is bad. We’ve walked on a few cold days, and on those days I thank the person who invented heaters in cars, on my drive home. So why did I contact Blind Sports and volunteer to walk with someone? Well, it helps another person, it’s a chance to give something back to the community, it shows thankfulness ( I have my sight), it motivates me to walk (and I really need to walk), and it makes Joy’!
Hitomi embraced the idea that the perfect time to volunteer might never come, inspiring her to connect with someone who shares her passion for music.
“The learning curve was steep but I learnt quickly. Rick is patient, experienced as a runner and extremely motivated” said Carlos, BSRV volunteer.
"We became fast friends and have never been at a loss for things to talk and laugh about!"
Heading out most weekends, Annette and BSRV volunteer Andrew are sharing their joy of riding as they explore their local area.
