Vince and Anne Garreffa Prevention Services Volunteer of the Year award – Brooke Longville

Brooke Longville decided to volunteer for Lifeline WA’s Aged Care Volunteer Visitor Scheme (ACVVS) when she was part of a team recruiting hundreds of elderly people for a research study – part of her work toward her PhD. “My own grandparents lived overseas, and it wasn’t until this project that I realised how much I enjoy spending time with older community members.”

“I saw a posting on the local community chat about ACVVS and applied. During the application process I mentioned that I loved to crochet and the ACVVS team matched me with Bev”. That shared love of crochet was the basis for beginning a beautiful friendship.

“Despite the generation gap we have a lot of things we can talk about, and many shared interests – I’m trying to make up for the lost time with my grandparents,” she says. “It’s also very rewarding to know that my friendship with Bev helps to provide the human connection that she doesn’t always get.”

Brooke visits Bev once a week, and when she can’t make it, she emails photos so she and Bev can stay connected.

“Weekly visits has given me the chance to get to know Bev. We’ve become quite the team; we both enjoy a board game and a laugh. It’s a privilege to be a part of her growing older,” says Brooke.

“Every week, I look forward to our little joy exchange. There’s really no substitute.”