Balancing life after retirement can be tricky—especially when your desire to help others is as strong as Dawn’s.
A regular volunteer at the Arawang Emergency Relief Hub—Dawn meets with families and individuals experiencing food insecurity. When participants arrive for the first time, they are greeted by Dawn’s genuine and ready smile.
“What we do makes a huge difference to so many people”, she explained. “I’ve learnt that starting with a smile for each client goes a long way to having a positive interaction.”
The Hub is a collaboration between Anglicare and the Arawang Anglican Church, and Dawn—a long-time parish member—has been an integral part of the team since it’s planning stages, over 7 years ago.
“In my transition to retirement, I wanted to do some volunteering and have it in place before I finished paid employment”, she said.
After 45 years as a primary school teacher, Dawn was looking for something that offered social connection and allowed her to use her interpersonal skills. At the same time, the parish was seeking to increase its engagement with the community through a food pantry—and it felt like the perfect fit.
Dawn’s role is not always easy. Many of the families and individuals she supports experience multiple and compounding disadvantages—affecting employment, housing, health, and family life. Hearing these stories can be overwhelming, but Dawn’s smile still stays steady.
“I have to remind myself that we can refer people on to other places for additional help. We can’t do it all”, she said.
In the early years, Dawn took on numerous volunteering roles over multiple days, which soon found her emotionally overstretched.
“I was no longer getting joy from it”, she said. “I had to learn that self-care was as important as caring for others. I had reached the point of ‘over-volunteering’ and needed to put balance back in my life”.
After adjusting her commitments, Dawn now gives back in ways that allow her to appreciate and enjoy her roles in the community. She even has time to bring her home-baked “Dawn’s Slice” to share with fellow volunteers.
In addition to her role at the Hub, Dawn also volunteers with the Intergenerational Playgroup run between the parish and the St Luke’s Early Learning Centre and is a committed member of the U3A Harmonia Monday Choir.
With balance restored, Dawn’s commitments no longer feel like a weight—but a blessing.
“The last 4 years have had some health challenges for me. However, knowing that I had volunteering to look forward to, gave me motivation to face each day and have the goal of returning to what I love doing – helping others.”
We are incredibly thankful to Dawn for sharing her time, skills, and genuine compassion with the Arawang team. Her efforts—and her smile—have made a real difference in the lives of countless community members experiencing difficulty.
Visit our Arawang Emergency Relief Hub to learn more about this essential service. For information on a variety of volunteering opportunities, visit our Volunteering Page.
