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Gaye Storrie is the latest nominee for the Herald's Unsung Heroes series, which rewards some volunteers with a P&O cruise
One of Gaye Storrie's favourite anecdotes from her time with Age Concern involves a man named Jim.
"We always thought he was single, but after about three months of me visiting him he said to me, 'I wonder if you could help find my son?'
"He told me about him, that he last had contact with him 18 years earlier, when the boy was 17. He had worked on the railways, and still did, so it wasn't too difficult to find him. And Jim found out he had a daughter-in-law, also a train driver, and two grandchildren. So instead of a lonely old age, Jim had a family."
Ms Storrie, 61, has been a visitor with Age Concern since 1993, and is one of six original visitors left in Auckland. She visits lonely and needy people in the community.
"Well, I'm single, I have the time, and I love old people," she explained.
Three years ago, she joined Friends of the Emergency Department (FED) at Auckland City Hospital's accident and emergency department, through St John. She gives up two Sunday afternoons a month to provide non-medical support.
Ms Storrie's years of volunteering experience means she regularly assists St John management to recruit and train new FEDs.
She has also been a volunteer visitor at St Joseph's Hospice, helping recently bereaved families come to terms with their loss.
Ms Storrie has worked fulltime as personal assistant to the head of public relations at AUT for 14 years.
Her workmates and her community in Onehunga benefit from her apparently inexhaustible energy, warmth and compassion.
"Gaye is a great support for the team here at AUT," said Ian Leader, project manager for community involvement at the university. "She's a wonderful friend, and always has a shoulder for someone to lean on if they need it."
