Mari-Anne gives new mums a helping hand

Mari-Anne gives new mums a helping hand

Mater volunteers are appreciated by patients and staff every day of the year—and this National Volunteer Week we are celebrating our volunteers who collectively contribute more than 80,000 hours to Mater every year.

Mari-Anne has been volunteering as part of Mater Mothers’ Parent Aide Unit for four years, where she supports families experiencing difficulties or who just need a helping hand.

“I became a volunteer after looking for some extra support for a friend of mine and came across the Parent Aide Unit. I felt that it was a much needed service and wanted to play my part,” Mari-Anne said.

“The last few years have been incredible. It’s really lovely to have that connection with children and I also feel it’s important as a woman to support other women.”

Along the way Mari-Anne has been able to watch the families she supports grow in confidence and find their feet as parents.

“The progression that you see from your initial contact to when the children are older is amazing. It’s an incredible difference you can make to someone’s life,” Mari-Anne said.

“The woman I am working with now has blossomed into the most amazing mother.  She’s the most resilient woman I’ve ever met. And it’s been so rewarding to have been a part of her journey.”

Robert is the Manager of the Parent Aide Unit and says the work Mari-Anne and  her fellow volunteers do is invaluable to the families they support.

“Our peer support program is all about mothers helping mothers. We have close to 50 volunteers who support mums in parenting antenatal to children two years of age,” Robert said.

“The amazing commitment our volunteers show is beyond our expectations, and we see the difference they make to families every day. We really can’t thank them enough.”

To find out more about becoming a Parent Aide Unit volunteer, please contact the team on 07 3163 2234 or email [email protected].

 

Tags:

Mater Babies
This Year
1917
This Month
942
= five + five

Was this information helpful?

For urgent assessment at any stage of your pregnancy, please present to your nearest emergency centre or Mater Mothers’ 24/7 Pregnancy Assessment Centre in South Brisbane.

Personal
Was this helpful?
 Security code