Albury's Robyn Heap never imagined how much a few hours spent each week supporting an elderly person could enrich her life, or the lives of her daughters.
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But since Ms Heap began taking Roma Jones into Albury last August, a valuable friendship has been formed.
"I was talking with one of my sisters about work she was doing at an aged care facility near Bendigo, and how sad she was that there wasn't much time for social interaction with the residents and some of them had no visitors at all," Ms Heap said.
"That sat with me, and then out of the blue I saw an advertisement from LiveBetter looking for volunteers to visit aged care facilities or the elderly in their homes.
"I thought, well, I only work four days a week - I have time on my day off, so I contacted them."
Before COVID-19 replaced her visits with phone calls, Ms Heap would attend Riverwood Retirement Village every Thursday.
"It would be paying bills and getting things she needs, and we'd usually have a coffee and finish off with going to the supermarket," she said.
"We chat the whole time.
"Being 95, Roma has lots of stories - she talks about being a nurse through the war and as we drive around Albury, she points out what used to be there.
"I pass on her stories to my daughters.
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"Roma is always so appreciative, but we both get something out of it."
At 49, Ms Heap is among the youngest volunteers in LiveBetter's Social Support Individual program, which is always seeking more hands.
Volunteers across the Border and North East have been celebrated for National Volunteer Week, which concludes today.
