Damien Kiddie works full-time at Mitre 10 Mega, but that hasn't stopped him volunteering for Hospice Whanganui for the past seven years. Lately, he has been a valuable part of the team of volunteers at Hospice Boutique in Victoria Avenue, and when they heard he had a new role at
Changing the perception of the traditional volunteer

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Judy Firmin of Hospice Boutique with leaving volunteer Damien Kiddie. Photo / Paul Brooks
"Damien has been such a valuable member of the Boutique team," says Kelly Scarrow. "He has been one of our younger volunteers, helping to shift the perception that volunteering is for retired folk. He manages to not only work full-time but also gives an afternoon a week which we will always be grateful for. His banter with his team and customers and love of our organisation shines through with everyone who has the pleasure of engaging with him. There's a really nice synergy in the fact that he works with one of Hospice Whanganui's supporters, Mitre 10, and we look forward to working with them for an upcoming 'Ladies Night' — Dates TBC."
Damien started his volunteering helping out with Hospice events when he was working at the Splash Centre. "There were two of us with free time so we both signed up to volunteer," he says. They saw Valda Brechmanis regularly at the Splash Centre so asked her how to go about it. Valda was volunteer co-ordinator for Hospice.
It was an email from Valda last year, informing him they needed a volunteer at Hospice Boutique that got him to sign up for a Friday shift. He says he has loved his time there and really enjoyed working with the team and engaging with customers.
He hopes other young people will be inspired to do what he did. "We definitely need more volunteers."