Beryl Makinson and Doris Kilby

Two Help Desk volunteers who have completed fifteen years service with the Friends of St Cross are to be recognised at the Charity’s AGM in June 2015. They join a group of thirty others who have reached this milestone and are still volunteering at the hospital!

Farmer’s daughter and farmer’s wife, Beryl Makinson was recruited as a volunteer by the late Derek Masters who was a family friend and a stalwart of the Friends of St Cross.  Ever since then she has done a regular shift on one of the Help Desks showing people round the hospital to the location of their appointments. Like all our volunteers she enjoys meeting people as well as the company of fellow volunteers and the staff in the hospital.

Doris Kilby took up volunteering with the Friends when she retired from working at the hospital as a staff nurse.  She served on the main committee for nine years organising occasional fundraising events such as plant sales, a charity performance of the Barby Players and a folk evening held in the Barby Village hall. Since then she has helped with store collections and been a regular on the Help Desk rota.

Strangely enough the two ladies had not met prior to coming together for this photocall! Chrysanda Gilbert, Help Desk Co-ordinator for the Friends of St Cross, explained “Once they are trained, and know their way round the hospital, most of our volunteers only come in for a specific shift and so only meet up with others if they are providing occasional cover, when volunteers are on holiday or away for other reasons. We try to encourage volunteers to come along to social events such as the Christmas coffee morning and coach trips as well as the AGM. But we understand that the Friends of St Cross is often just one of many voluntary activities and we are grateful that they give us some of their time.”