When Wei found Wil

The story of how true volunteering is its own reward

Sixty-four-year-old Sydney artist Wil has taken a young man under his wing through Catholic Healthcare's Community Visitors Scheme, giving 23-year-old Wei Zhao painting lessons once a fortnight.

But it might be surprising to learn that Wil isn't the volunteer in this relationship.

A client of Catholic Healthcare's Community Services, Wil was left with brain damage from a car accident many years ago, and later developed Early Onset Dementia. Through fortnightly visits to his Northern Suburbs home, Psychology student Wei has helped Wil regain an important part of his life: the role of mentor.

According to Catholic Healthcare's Community Services Volunteers and Corporate Partnerships Manager Kerry Lovell, the story of Wil and Wei embodies the spirit of what Catholic Healthcare calls ‘Enabling Volunteering'.

“ ‘Enabling' seeks to avoid the creation of client dependence on a care provider,” Mrs Lovell explained. “Rather, it encourages clients to be more empowered, independent and active, while truly remaining connected within the community.”

“When we apply the Enabling philosophy to volunteering, we see relationships created where both the volunteer and the client enjoy an enriching, rewarding experience,” Mrs Lovell said. “In the case of Wil, regaining the role of mentor in his life for just a few hours a fortnight makes an immeasurable contribution to his level of self-esteem and overall wellbeing. For Wei, Wil provides a priceless human insight for his Psychology studies – and helps fulfil his own quiet ambition of expressing himself better artistically. And most importantly, Wil and Wei now enjoy a true friendship.”

Wei Zhao encourages more people to consider putting their hands up to make a genuine difference to the lives of people within the community – and to their own lives in the process.

“I know that for Wil, my company gives him a chance to be socially involved. But volunteering also allows me to participate in our community in a meaningful way,” Wei said.

“I've certainly seen a change in Wil since I started volunteering. He interacts with me more when teaching me and conversing in general. There is definitely a friendship between us now.

“With Wil, I learn things about Psychology that university can't teach me. Developing my great respect for Wil has brought context to my studies. And thanks to Wil's art lessons and encouragement, I finally have the guts to paint. It's something I've always wanted to do well, but have not had the confidence to do so until now.”

Mrs Lovell said Catholic Healthcare had many short-term and long-term volunteering opportunities for people to explore, as well as an advanced ‘matching matrix' system which pairs volunteers and clients who have similar or complementary interests or skills.

“Many of our volunteers who share the ideals of Enabling find the short-term volunteering opportunities particularly rewarding,” Mrs Lovell said. “For example, a volunteer might only have three weeks a year to give, but those few weeks could be all the time it takes to help a client engage or reconnect with a local community group or social activity."