Barb Thomas always happy to lend a helping hand for Albany Community Hospice because it ‘touches everybody’

For more than 24 years, Barb Thomas has been a dedicated volunteer at Albany Community Hospice and she’s proud of the variety of ways the community finds to support the vital health service. She is not only a familiar face at the hospice, but also at Butterflies Op Shop where helps raise important funds for ACH. She says she simply does it because “the hospice touches everybody”. “Whether it’s personal, family or friends, it will touch everybody,” she said. “And I think it’s much nicer for people to be in the hospice during difficult circumstances than be in hospital — it’s much closer to being a home away from home if home isn’t an option.” As Butterflies manager, Ms Thomas spends about 10 hours a week in the Middleton Loop shop as well as extra time managing the rosters of the shop’s 30 volunteers. She also spends about an additional six hours a week volunteering at ACH. “I don’t know what I’d do with all my spare time if I didn’t volunteer,” she said. “We go away for three to four months each year, but even then I don’t completely switch off. “I’ll have dreams about rearranging the shop or other things that happen around here — it’s become like my baby and I enjoy my time here.” She said she encouraged everyone to support ACH when they could. “And we are always looking for more volunteers,” she said. “We’ll never knock a volunteer back because there is always plenty to do.”