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Every Thursday you’ll find Valerie Field of Arkles Bay sorting bric-a-brac at the Whangaparāoa hospice shop.
She’s one of 37 Hibiscus Coast locals who was recognised last week for her dedication as a volunteer for Harbour Hospice at its annual Long Service Awards.
Valerie has volunteered for Harbour Hospice for 15 years and says it’s the camaraderie with other volunteers that keeps her going back, year after year.
“We like sharing the chatter, and you might see someone come in from the gym or that you know from somewhere else in the community,” she says.
For this role she works behind the scenes but if you’d met Valerie, aged 81, during the 1960s you would have found her centre stage with the spotlight directly on her. Valerie was a singer who, when she was 18, was performing alongside some of New Zealand’s most well-known entertainers including Bill and Boyd, Rama White, Luke Lawson, Peter Posa, The Rockets, and Tony Williams.
“We used to tour the North Island and perform at all these places and get packed houses. I was the only young woman in a group of 14 men.”
Later, Valerie moved to England where she became the South East London entrant in a 1967 competition called ‘Personality Girl’.
She joined operatic societies in Fulham and Putney and progressed from singing in choruses to taking leading roles in stage shows and musicals. Again, it was the camaraderie with her fellow cast members that drew Valerie back to the stage, time and again.
While her lifestyle today is quieter, Valerie says it is wonderful knowing she’s making a difference through volunteer work. She has also helped run hospice’s fundraising fashion parades.
Harbour Hospice chief executive Jan Nichols says volunteers are integral to the delivery of the organisation’s services.
“In the past year 1200 volunteers gave more than 151,000 hours of their time and because of their dedication we were able to care for 1330 patients and their whānau in our community,” she says. “Without volunteers, we couldn’t do what we do and we are very grateful to each and every one of them for the time, energy and skills they give.”
