Meet Marie, one of our dedicated tutoring volunteers.
Read her thoughts on the joys of volunteering.
Marie always knew how she didn’t want her retirement to be.
When reflecting on her working years, she recalls “the older people I knew in my life were ladies who lunched and played bridge. And even 30 years ago, I knew that wasn’t what I wanted. So now that I have the freedom to do what I want, I do this.”
For Marie, “this” refers to her extensive volunteering.
After recently moving to Australia from the US, Marie was looking for something meaningful where she could use her considerable skills and experience.
“I have the sense that finding Weave’s Tutoring Program was divine intervention,” she says. “I can’t work, but I can’t sit still either. And I need a connection.
“So, I went to the Centre for Volunteering and tutoring came up… And then I met Denise [Weave’s Tutoring Coordinator]. I loved her immediately.”
The tutoring program is a natural fit for the expertise Marie has built up over many years.
The wonderful Marie
“I just feel like it’s natural connection with Weave. The people I’ve met have been amazing. It’s good to feel useful. It’s good to use the skills I’ve developed over a lifetime and feel connected.”
“I can do this, I know it,” she says. “My career had three different paths, and the final path was counselling and education for almost 20 years — and I just use those skills.
“It’s like the shoe that fits. And I know there’s a benefit to it.”
For Marie, the most rewarding part is working with her students. “There’s a little glimmer that you get when a child ‘gets it’. It’s like an electric spark. And seeing that is a reward… Knowing we are joined at this second for purposeful reasons, and that it enables the student to take the next step — what a good thing!
“People have done that for me in my life, and I’m happy to be able to do the same for others.
“Weave’s wonderfully supportive — the word ‘home’ comes to mind — a welcoming community who appreciates what you have to offer. And sometimes you don’t even know what you have to offer until you see the results.”