Meet hospital volunteer, Audrey

Audrey McCallum is the President for the Volunteers at Prince of Wales Hospital.

"I started volunteering 16 years ago as a ward visitor on the Aged Care wards.

Over the years, I’ve done many different things as part of my volunteer role. Some highlights include running free walking tours of the old hospital buildings, collecting historical information for the hospital’s History Wall, supporting the Wig Library for cancer patients, archiving almost 100 years’ worth of medical records, and establishing a museum room full of historical memorabilia at the Uniting War Memorial Hospital.

When I retired, people asked me what I was going to do with myself! I knew I wanted to volunteer but I didn’t know where or what. My great love is history and so a friend recommended the hospital because of the rich history associated with the site.

My career was in primary school teaching. I’ve always had an interest in the link between technology and research, and was very proactive getting computers into schools back in the 1980’s.

I enjoy the way my role here as a volunteer is able to link in with my passion for history and research. But most importantly, being able to help the hospital staff and the patients, in whatever way I can, is personally rewarding.

As the President, I look after about 80 volunteers. Our volunteer service has changed over the years, but we always try to keep what we do relevant to the needs of the hospital and patients today. I think that people who have the time and desire to volunteer get a lot of satisfaction out of helping others."