Born with a genetic disorder that nearly killed her, Mikaela Norris spent much of her childhood in hospital.
During every stay for treatment connected to her spinal muscular atrophy type 2, she and her older sister would visit the Starlight Room, where volunteers provided games, crafts and a friendly face.
“It made hospital a lot more friendly for me and my family,” Ms Norris told AAP.
“As a kid you’re like, ‘why am I here and getting poked with needles and I can’t get out of bed? That’s not really fair’
“But then the Starlight captains are there to paint your face and play games with you and you’re like, ‘oh, it’s not too bad, I guess’.”
Now 23, she still visits the Starlight Room at Queensland Children’s Hospital in Brisbane, but as a volunteer to “pay it forward”.
Ms Norris, who works four hours every Wednesday, says she had been worried about her ability to contribute due to her physical limitations.
But having been the child patient in the room, she offers empathy other volunteers can’t.
“I get quite insecure about my disability and how much I can actually help … (but) I do see a lot of myself in a couple of the kids that I’m able to meet,” she said.
“I want to make their hospital experience a little bit more tolerable, it really does make a difference.”
The way people volunteer has changed in recent years, according to Volunteering Australia chief executive Mark Pearce.
Instead of making a formal commitment to certain days and times, there was an emerging trend of people doing more ad-hoc volunteering, he said.
“It might be you and I get together and say, ‘you know, at that creek down the road, there’s got a lot of rubbish in it, let’s just go clean it up’,” Mr Pearce said.
The organisation is using National Volunteer Week, which begins on Monday, to urge more people to donate their time.
People like Ms Norris – those who had been positively impacted by volunteering – were often those most likely to want to give back, Mr Pearce said.
But many others volunteered just to demonstrate their commitment to their community, he said.
Around six million people volunteer through organisations across the nation and millions more volunteer informally in their local communities, according to the organisation’s figures.
It was cruelly ironic that volunteers were most needed at times of stress – such as during the current cost-of-living crisis or following natural disasters – but those same events could prompt a decline in numbers, Mr Pearce acknowledged.
“But it’s important to understand with volunteering that it goes both ways,” he added.
“Communities benefit from volunteers as volunteers benefit from volunteering itself.”
Ms Norris concurs.
“Seeing families and kids laughing and smiling, knowing that they probably had a rough week or couple of days … that’s all that matters.”
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