BEV Cooney reckons her volunteer work is motivated by simple selfishness.
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"I get more out of what I do than anyone else. That's why I do it," she says.
Others think differently because Ms Cooney was named as both the Senior Volunteer of the Year and the overall NSW Volunteer of the Year for the Central West at an awards ceremony on Thursday.
About 100 guests, volunteers and community leaders came together for the virtual Central West ceremony, which is part of the 2020 NSW Volunteer of the Year Awards run by the Centre for Volunteering.
IN OTHER NEWS:
Ms Cooney and her fellow regional finalists will be invited to the Gala State Ceremony for the announcement of the 2020 NSW Volunteer of the Year.
After hearing about the idea through a friend in Rotary, Ms Cooney helped set up the Dcaf Dementia Cafe at Bathurst's Neighbourhood Centre 12 months ago.
"Every week, for two hours on Wednesdays, we have people with dementia and their carers come in and we have coffee and they do exercises and we have speakers come and talk to them," she said.
"We had the police here a couple of weeks ago; we've had Centrelink.
"It's really good for the carers. It's wonderful."
Ms Cooney is also one of a group of volunteers who sit with patients at the hospital who have dementia as part of the CHOPS (Confused Hospitalised Older Persons) program.
"We sit with those patients and keep them awake through the day so that they sleep at night because dementia patients have a habit of being awake all night and wanting to sleep all day," she said.
"We talk to them. If it's a nice day, we pop them in a wheelchair and take them for a walk outside. Whatever they want to do.
"It's quite amazing when you talk to them. If you start talking to them about their childhood, you can bring them up to yesterday.
"It's fascinating."
Ms Cooney also started a program at the Neighbourhood Centre called Bathurst's Biggest Cover Up, in which she and other sewers make masks for people in town who can't afford to buy them.
A resident of Bathurst since 2015, Ms Cooney has had a long association with Peru, for which she won an Order of Australia Medal in 2013.
She has taken doctors and nurses to work in the South American country over a number of years, organised for a school for children with disabilities to be built there in 2006 (partly funded by her super) and organised for beds from the old Royal Newcastle Hospital to be shipped to the country.
She has received Peru's highest award for foreigners, the Merit of Honour.
A retired nurse, Ms Cooney had plans to take a team, including Bathurst doctors and nurses, to Peru this year to treat trachoma, but had that trip derailed by COVID.
She is also unsure whether she will be able to go to the country next year.
In the meantime, though, there is her volunteer work in Bathurst to keep her busy.
"It sure beats sitting at home watching Dr Phil," she said.
The 2020 NSW Volunteer of the Year Awards are supported by principal partners the NSW Department of Communities and Justice and ClubsNSW, which represents the state's 1400 not-for-profit clubs.
