St Vincent’s first told the story of Colin and our amazing and generous St Vincent’s ‘volunteer army’ last December to mark International Volunteers Day.
The story of Colin, , one of six volunteer Happy Hour Companions who provide a chat and a nightly tipple at the palliative care ward of St Vincent’s Private Hospital Brisbane (Kangaroo Point) was brought to the attention of ABC-TV News Brisbane earlier last year. They sent a crew and reporter in mid-March to spend a shift following Colin around as he served and chatted with patients on his weekly round as ‘Happy Hour Companion.’
The story aired on ABC TV News bulletins in Queensland, nationally and internationally on the ABC-TV 24 news service on Easter Sunday, then went viral across ABC Brisbane and ABC Australia’s Instagram and Facebook pages, attracting, firstly several hundred thousands of views and hundreds of comments.
But by Thursday morning, the ABC Instagram reel had incredibly amassed over 1.7 million views while there were over 1 million views on Facebook and the ABC TV News digital page hosting the story had attracted over 42,000 views.
It was seen and received a massive national and international audience and resonated with comments and responses from around the globe including New Zealand, Hong Kong, the United States, UK and France.
Among the admirers were Federal Minister for Aged Care, Anika Wells, who shared the story to her @anikawellsmp page, commenting “Good on you, Colin.”
The tributes to Colin, St Vincent’s Private Hospital and for its volunteers flooded social media accounts with people effusive in their praise. Many called him an “inspiration”, “a gem”, “an angel”, “an absolute legend”, “a beautiful soul”, “a true star”, “the face of human kindness and thoughtfulness” and “my vote for Australian of the Year”.
St Vincent’s Private Hospital Volunteers Coordinator (Northside Hospital) Sharyn Smith said it was truly heartwarming to see the outpouring of affection, admiration and recognition for Colin and the St Vincent’s volunteers.
“Colin’s one of six volunteers who provides the palliative care service and they all do an amazing job providing companionship and a little daily treat to our patients who are at a vulnerable and isolating time in their lives, although we have over 100 volunteers in total,” said Sharyn.
“On their rounds, it’s a ‘visit with a purpose’ and it can help to get patients talking. We find the drinks trolley is often a good conversation starter, whether they just want a fruit juice or something like a Baileys and ice.
“Our volunteers have good people skills and they’re genuinely interested in connecting to the patients and hearing their stories, if they wish to share it. Our volunteers get inspired by them so it’s a positive outcome for everyone.”
To find out more about how to become a St Vincent’s Private Hospital volunteer or wish to support our volunteers, please call Greg Potent on 0479 187 160 to discuss.
