#58 - Do Some Volunteering and #59 - Get A Free Tshirt

Oxfam has numerous community projects both here in Australia and abroad.  They actively raise money, in a variety of ways, to support such projects, one of which is the Oxfam Trailwalker.  To summarise: teams of 4 walk 100km within 48 hours.  Brisbane's first Trailwalk was held over the weekend of June 17-19 with some 300 teams participating in the event, starting at Mt Glorious and ending at Mt Coot-tha.  The top fund raising team gathered an astounding $15,840 and the quickest team crossed the finish line, presumably salubriously, in 11 hours 58 minutes.


Shortly after I registered to volunteer at the event almost 2 months ago I had the option to choose from a list of jobs available.  I chose: Catering Delivery Van Driver, working as a team of two with a navigator.


Arriving at Trailwalker HQ at the charming Brisbane Forest Park at 4:30pm for a 4.5 hour shift, I met my offsider and navigator Wendy, another volunteer.  Announcing our arrival, we were briefed by Kay on our role which was to deliver pre-packaged meals for volunteers to the various checkpoints along the trail, given the keys to the van, several maps for all the check points, directions to each of the checkpoints laminated and detailed incontrovertibly, a mobile phone to contact HQ, our identification lanyard and our free long sleeved tshirt.  We loaded up the van with meals and Wendy and I were on our way for a roooooooaaaad triiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip!!!!!!!!!!!!

Using the meticulous directions provided, we delivered meals to 12 checkpoints.  Along the way we met with trail marshalls in teams of 2-4 whose job was to sit / stand in the cold night air in high visibility vests to meet and greet with the teams for the purpose of support and encouragement as they made progress along the trail.  The checkpoints were well equipped with physiotherapists, podiatrists, first aid, meals, water, snacks, supplies, friendly faces, volunteers and amenities. 

After dispensing meals to several checkpoints and trail marshalls, Wendy and I soon realised it was we who had the most agreeable role.  We had the pleasure of meeting umpteen devoted volunteers who were happy to greet us, drive a cozy van with a toasty heater to the soundtrack of triple J's mix up / house party tunes on a Saturday night - think: cranking up the volume, singing along to Young MC's 'Bust a Move' and being thrilled at one's own ability to recall all lyrics in spite of several years between listenings - and, AND score a free tshirt in the process! Win-win-win-win-win!  Most of the checkpoints were on the boundary of D'Aguilar forest, away from suburbia.  It was a mild, clear night like crystal, the moon was bright and big and the stars were putting on a show for us.  I pulled over a few times so we could consider the universe, marvel at the moon and the diamonds in the sky.

We finished our shift and were back at Trailwalker HQ by 8:30pm, half an hour before our scheduled finish time.  The crew at HQ were tickled pink with our work and sent us on our way with a meal and some snacks.  Wendy and I bid each other farewell, musing that we would meet again next year, same venue, same van.  Feeling appeased, this was decidedly one of the most gratifying ways to spend a Saturday night.

Some might argue that only a small percentage of funds raised by charities actually makes it into the plams of the people who really need it.  The reality is that charities have all the expenses and overheads just like any other big business.  The way I see it is this: the amount of financial assistance that does make it to those in need is more than what it would be if organisations like Oxfam didn't exist and, I am cheerfully and pleasantly astounded at the lengths some people will go with their selflessness, in an attempt to alleviate suffering in lives of others.