Volunteer Trish

At the age of 50, Trish Davies jumped out of a plane for St Luke’s. However, not only was it her first parachute jump, but it was also her first time ever on a plane, and she did it all for St Luke’s.

Fast-forward 30 years and now at 80 years old, Trish has been volunteering at our Driftwood Café every Monday afternoon for the last two years.

Trish may be a familiar face to others in the local area, as she also volunteers at Shekinah every Saturday. Volunteering is something that has always been on Trish’s mind, but it wasn’t until a couple of years ago that she first took the step into the world of volunteering.

“I wanted to do it for years, but when my husband Brian was alive, he was 20 years older than me, and I was always busy doing a lot of things, so I thought it wasn’t fair to leave him again. I actually came and applied three times to do volunteering, I always wanted to do it, but like I say, I never got around to it through different circumstances. But after he passed away three years ago at the age of 97, I thought, now I’ll do it.

“Since volunteering here I have had cancer myself, so I can sympathise and go along with what people are suffering with here. I always thought it was other people that get cancer. You never think you’re going to get it yourself, do you? But I was very lucky because I’ve always done the poo or (FIT) test, and if I hadn’t have done it, I might have been worse. But I was very lucky and they caught it in time, so it’s a lesson for people to get those tests.”

To Trish it is the light and smiles she can bring to patients that brings her joy in her role.

“It’s great to be able to smile and make them feel happier than they are at the moment,” she says. “Give them a bit of light-heartedness, to cheer them up in some sort of fashion. I’m always a cheerful person and it’s nice to be able to spread a bit of happiness.”

Trish is often seen wheeling around the tea trolley, bringing patients a welcome cuppa to their bedsides. She admits that initially she was unsure how emotional it may make her, visiting the wards, but describes how she took to it ‘like a duck to water’. “It is a pleasure to do it, to help as much as you can, to make their day a bit lighter and happier.”

“I absolutely love coming. It’s only for three hours, but I love every minute of it. I love volunteering. I’d never done volunteering before in my life, but I enjoy it so much. The people, the staff and everybody around, they’re all the same, they’re all so nice.”

Thank you to all our volunteers past and present, who have helped to shape our services. If you are interested in volunteering with St Luke’s, then we would love to hear from you.