The day before her birthday she was surprised by her colleagues at Seymour Health, where she has volunteered for the last 20 years.
“I opened the door in the morning, there was coloured balloons all over the table,” Ms Dunn said.
“They were taking photographs, and they had a board up with all the photographs they dug out over the years, some of them not very flattering.”
“When the clients came in, they were all singing, and they gave me a beautiful cake.”
When Ms Dunn first volunteered at Seymour Health’s Social Support Group, she only thought she'd be doing it for a couple of years.
Now, 20 years later, she is a celebrated member of the team.
“One of the girls in the Lions Club works for the Social Support Group and asked, ‘was there anyone interested in volunteering?’ and I thought I could do that because I don’t have any skills as such, like nursing or anything like that,” Ms Dunn said.
“I went along a bit cautiously and hoped to be a bit useful.”
“I thought it would be great to be involved for a couple of years if they felt what I contributed was worthwhile.”
“Somehow, I’m still here 20 years later.”
Ms Dunn said being a volunteer for the last 20 years made her feel like she is doing “a bit of good”.
“At our age, sort of your kids have grown up, even your grandchildren are grown up and don’t need you any more,” she said.
“You need to do something with your life, or you might as well not be here.
“I felt good that I was doing something useful.”
Ms Dunn’s volunteering involves helping run sessions or assisting on trips for people who are lonely or have partners who are not in good health.
“It’s fulfilling for me,” she said.
“It’s just good to be doing something back for the community.”
Over the years, Ms Dunn has made so many memories at Seymour Health.
“There’s just so many because each time you think of each different person, they’ve got their own personalities,” she said.
“They all do funny things.
“The girls that organise us have got great imaginations!”
But her favourite part of it all is getting to greet everyone, both staff and clients.
“Just getting a smile and a hello, is good,” she said.
“They always make you feel welcome.
“The staff are just wonderful.”
10°C