A 19-year-old West Nowra university student, Tash McGeachie has discovered that doing something nice for someone else has become an enjoyable friendship that she values.
“I heard that CareSouth needed volunteers to spend time with people in their disability program and I thought it sounded like a good idea.
“I started to spend time once a week with 20-year-old Jess about a year ago,” says Tash.
“At first it was challenging as I hadn’t spent a lot of time with people with disabilities. The first time that I met Jess she seemed really excited. We just took my dog for a walk and had a chat. We got along really well and I enjoyed our time together.
“She did kind of test me in the early days. One of the times I took her to Nowra she suddenly announced that she was going to get her hair cut and walked into the nearest hairdresser. Luckily the hairdresser could see that I looked worried and said she couldn’t fit her in!
“The staff at CareSouth helped me come up with strategies to avoid a similar situation but I haven’t needed to use them, our relationship has become a friendship based on trust.
“I genuinely enjoy spending time with Jess, I hadn’t expected to get so much out of our friendship. We talk about all sorts of things; my dog, her work, my uni, her boyfriend, her flatmate. I suppose she can say things to me that she can’t say to other people.
“One of the benefits is that I get to do things I wouldn’t have thought to do. Jess loves going to my grandma’s for dinner, going for walks, swimming and seeing comedies and cartoons at the movies. She also enjoys milkshakes at Wendys and Thai food. We both make suggestions about how we spend our time,” said Tash.
“Even though I plan to travel around Australia next year, I hope to resume our weekly catch ups when I return,” she said.
South coast based welfare organisation Caresouth is looking for more community volunteers to spend time with adults with a disability. Volunteers need to be over 18 years of age and to consent to a criminal record check.
CareSouth is a community non-profit organisation, providing support to families, children, young people, adolescents and people with disabilities with a strong philosophy on providing safety, security and nurturing within all the broad range of care that is provided.
If you are interested in volunteering to spend time with a person with a disability please call Tanya McGeachie tollfree on 1300 554 260, if calling from a mobile phone 4423 6833.
Photo opportunity – Tash can be photographed with Jess on Thursday 6th May at 5pm at 2 Paruna Place, Nowra.
Media Contact – Jo Munro, PR Manager, CareSouth, mob 0412 999 537.
