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Volunteers deserve a break

December 2007.- TWO hospice volunteers will take well-deserved breaks from their duties after being recognised for the exceptional work they do.

Hospice New Zealand has awarded the 2007 House of Travel Volunteer Award to Rotorua Community Hospice volunteer Desrae Murphy and Ecie Hursthouse, a volunteer at Auckland’s Amitabha Hospice.

The awards were announced on December 5 to coincide with International Volunteer Day.

Representatives from House of Travel, hospice’s national partner, in both Rotorua and Auckland will present the two women with their prizes – a trip for two to the Gold Coast and four nights’ accommodation.

Hospice New Zealand chief executive Mary Schumacher says the awards are designed to help recognise the unpaid work done in hospices by many community-minded people.

“These awards honour the wonderful people who give their time to hospice, those that stand out for their passion, dedication and commitment to the work they undertake on a voluntary basis.

“Hospices rely hugely on the good nature of volunteers. Many services and activities would come to a halt without them. It takes a special kind of person to do such a job and I can’t thank our volunteers enough for the amazing job they do throughout the country.”

Ecie works as Amitabha Hospice’s managing director in a voluntary capacity and for the past 11 years has been the driving force behind the service she helped to set up.

Trained as a nurse, Ecie has been described by her colleagues as “a selfless human dynamo involved in activities across the entire spectrum of services delivered”.

With help from her trustees, she has built up a network of specially trained volunteer caregivers who offer support for the physical, emotional, intellectual, cultural and spiritual needs of people with terminal illness and their families. She not only recruits these volunteers, she also organises them and trains them.

Amitabha chairman Chris Destrieux says the award is a wonderful acknowledgement of the selfless application and total commitment that Ecie has brought to the task of helping people in great need.

“It also highlights the great work Ecie has done in educating people about the great need for more volunteers to help hospices in the work they do in the community.”

House of Travel’s Cath Lawson, whose design team is partnered with Amitabha, works closely with Ecie and says she is an amazing woman who is totally dedicated to the cause.

“Amitabha has a great set of volunteers – I’ve seen how they work and how much time they dedicate to hospice. With Ecie it’s the uniqueness in the way she approaches her work which stands out. Being Buddhist-based it’s a completely different philosophy.”

The second Volunteer Award recipient, Desrae, undertakes a multitude of tasks in her voluntary role too.

Desrae is team leader for the day programme for patients but she also finds time to be a companion sitter, provide transport for patients, help at the local hospice shop, support fundraising activities and help out with the Tree of Remembrance at Christmas.

A volunteer for the past eight years, Desrae is described by Rotorua Community Hospice chief executive Tracey Watters as “gold”.

“Desrae is a huge achiever but a quiet achiever. She is extremely resilient and has a patient focus beyond anything I’ve seen in my 10 years with this service. She is passionate about our brand and is 100 percent pure volunteer.”

House of Travel Rotorua’s Pam Turner says it is a real pleasure to be partnered and involved with Rotorua Community Hospice.

“We have witnessed first-hand the tremendous work that the volunteers do in our community. It is truly an honour to present Desrae with her prize.

"Involved and giving 100 percent is exactly how we found her when we broke the news that she had won a trip to the Gold Coast. She is a deserved winner.”

Hospice New Zealand figures show volunteers like Desrae and Ecie give up more than $4 million worth of their time to the country’s hospices each year.

They are two of more than 5000 volunteers who work in hospices and donate a total of almost 460,000 hours a year. The figures do not include the amount of time put into fundraising, which would account for another 460,000 hours.