(03) 5561 9300
Volunteering at Lyndoch is a great way to contribute to your community.
Volunteering can:
Please download and complete the Volunteer Application Form and email to Stephen Grigson, Social Inclusion & Entrepreneurial Manager [email protected]
Volunteers help to enrich the lifestyle of Lyndoch’s Warrnambool aged care residents and clients by providing a variety of activities, experiences and companionship.
Whether you are a seasoned volunteer or looking for your first volunteering experience, Lyndoch Living provides support to all volunteers through our comprehensive orientation program and ongoing training opportunities.
Volunteers needn’t have any special skills or talents, however we require they are enthusiastic, patient and reliable, enjoy contact with people in varying levels of health, follow the Lyndoch Living policies and attend training and orientation sessions, and have a police check.
If you are interested in volunteering your time and skills at Lyndoch Living please contact us directly.
Speaking to any of our volunteers you quickly discover just how much they contribute to the community and find it a genuinely rewarding experience.
Some of our volunteers talk about why they chose to be part of Lyndoch Living.
“Simply reading to a resident can really stimulate conversation, and bringing in any new or different things for them to look at always gets a great reaction. We used to be farmers and have never done anything like this before – you get enormous satisfaction from it.”
Colin – Lake Lodge Nursing Home and Men’s Group Volunteer“When I first started, I didn’t know how I was going to contribute, but I quickly found my place at Lyndoch Living. I love when the clients ask – when are you coming back?”
Beth – Day Centre Volunteer“My wife and I spent two years travelling around Australia. When I bring in photos or the map of our touring route I’m guaranteed to spark memories and conversation with the residents. I reckon I get more out of it than they do.”
Charlie – KT Swinton Hostel Volunteer“After coming to visit Mum during her time at Lyndoch, I soon discovered I had a lot to offer the other residents. Now I come in and play old time records – it’s great to see them really get into it, clapping their hands and tapping their feet.”
Robert – Audrey Prider Centre Volunteer
Lyndoch Living has encouraged associations with the southwest district’s many schools. Students, residents and clients have participated in a number of activities either at Lyndoch or at the schools facilities.
Recently a more structured approach has been introduced, with the Grand Buddies Project.
The Grand Buddies Project is a way of encouraging interaction between students and our residents and clients through a range of classroom led topics, inspiring students to develop positive attitudes toward older people and aging in general.
For more information about school involvement, or the Grand Buddies Project, please contact us directly at Lyndoch Living.
As part of the Year 11 Emmanuel College students’ health curriculum, they were interested in gaining a deeper understanding of later stage adulthood, in particular physical, social, emotional and intellectual development. To help foster their education residents of the KT Swinton and Riverside Hostels hosted the students for an afternoon of intergenerational learning.
Outcomes of these sessions sat well outside expectation, with noted attitudinal changes shown from both generations. The elderly residents commented on the exemplary conduct of the Emmanuel College students, challenging the strong assumptions they had previously held about the ‘youth of today’ and their lack of manners and respect for seniors.
The students’ were just as surprised, commenting on how much they had enjoyed the visit, and learnt many unexpected aspects about the older generation. A couple of students in particular were anxious about entering the care environment at first, however by the end of their session they were asking about coming back in their ‘own time’ for future visits.
Lyndoch Living lifestyle staff led the activities, attended by our residents and clients, and the students that were wrapped up with a traditional Aussie barbeque to discuss the day’s outcomes with new friends.
Participants discussed what it means to be Australian and identified what we do and say that makes Australians unique. Through these discussions, everyone involved illustrated their thoughts on paper that was later sewn together to create a line of bunting.
May Noonan Centre Terang has built an exciting intergenerational program with the Noorat Primary School and the Nurture In Nature bus.
“One of our favourite all the things to be a part of on The Nature Bus and with our partner organisation Nurture in Nature is when we get to experience how nature can be a powerful conduit for human connection.
“On our fortnightly visits to our local aged care centre May Noonan at Lyndoch Living with the Noorat Primary School kids this year, we’ve used nature in many of our sessions and the conversations and creativity that ensues has been wonderful to watch and experience for all involved.”
Tania, Nurture In Nature
