Hello Members,
Last week was National Volunteer Week. My team at Telstra Health had the chance to spend a day at the Asylum Seeker Centre in Sydney as part of our corporate volunteering efforts. This gave us an opportunity to remove ourselves from our day-to-day roles and engage directly with refugees waiting for asylum who shared their stories of being stuck in limbo for as long as 15 years with an unknown future. Some of my colleagues were overcome with emotion hearing the journey of our fellow humans, which provided a different viewpoint to the narrative we typically hear in the media and from our politicians. As well as giving us an appreciation on the lives we lead, volunteering offers the chance for us to give something back to the community or make a difference to the people around us.
HIMAA relies on our volunteers to continue to make our community vibrant, whilst advancing our profession and association. Everyone from the Board to members of our branches, committees and CoP are essential in the work we do. We do it because we want to ensure the HIM profession continues to support the Australian healthcare system in providing the highest level of care that is safe and sustainable. Personally, volunteering for HIMAA has allowed me to develop skills beyond what my “day job” offers, grown friendships whilst having a lot fun along the way.
One of our long serving members who has generously volunteered her time for HIMAA is Kim Osborne. She recently resigned as co-convenor from the NSW Branch after 15 years supporting the branch. Over the years Kim has been a regular at the National Conference, growing friendships and having fun along the way. I want to thank her for her service. She will stay on the branch to mentor the next generation of HIMAA volunteers.
Onwards and upwards!
Cheens Lee
President
Email: cheensl@himaa.org.au