Recognising dedication: Dianne’s 35 years of volunteering with Vinnies

This National Volunteer Week, Vinnies NSW is proud to celebrate the people who power our shops and services—volunteers who give their time, compassion, and energy to support their communities. Among them is Dianne Maher, a humble and hardworking leader who has been a Vinnies volunteer for nearly 35 years.

Dianne’s Vinnies journey began in the late 1970s at St Vincent’s Hospital, where she visited patients through a local conference. In 1990, she started volunteering at the Evans Head Vinnies shop, later becoming conference president and regional secretary. After relocating in 2003, she joined the Casino Vinnies shop in 2004 and became Shop Manager just a year later. Today, she continues to lead the store as day coordinator and team leader.

“I’ve been doing it for 35 years, coming up in November,” Dianne says. “It’s just to meet different people — you make friends with customers and the staff. It’s a good opportunity for everyone.”

Known for her warmth and dedication, Dianne is respected not only by her local team but across the region. Paula McCormack, Regional Manager of Retail North East, nominated Dianne for St Vincent de Paul Volunteer Leader of the Year and Volunteer of the Year in the 2025 Volunteer Awards. She describes Dianne as an exemplary leader with a deep understanding of Vinnies’ retail mission.

“She will always support any initiative to increase sales and introduce different donations to her customers,” Paula says.

Dianne is passionate about ensuring the store runs smoothly and continues to support the wider community. She carefully plans volunteer rosters, making sure there are always enough people to accept, sort, and price donations so they reach the floor quickly. She has built a strong, efficient team and makes sure new volunteers feel welcome and supported.

“We try and work all together, and if someone doesn’t want to do a job, that’s okay by me,” Dianne says. “I just give them another job to do that’s suitable for them.”

Paula notes that the shop’s customer service is consistently excellent, and Dianne handles any challenges with integrity and care. She’s also diligent about health and safety, ensuring her team avoids injury and follows proper procedures when handling donations.

“She’s not afraid to ask for help when she needs it,” says Paula. “And she ensures her team have completed all their training in child safety, WHS, and anything else required.”

Dianne’s leadership is proactive and adaptable. When Casino Beef Week brought more visitors to town last year, she arranged to open the shop earlier to capture the extra foot traffic. And when a major retailer donated dozens of pallets of brand-new stock, Dianne enthusiastically accepted stock and made sure her store was one of the region’s top sellers of the items.

“She goes above and beyond when ideas are presented to her,” Paula says. “She embraces change and manages to get her team onboard.”

Dianne also keeps a close eye on the store’s performance and costs to ensure it maintains a healthy surplus. Her focus on financial sustainability helps Vinnies continue its good works in the local community.

But for Dianne, it’s not just about the numbers. It’s the human connection that motivates her.

“We’re helping people and trying to get them through difficult areas of their life,” she says. “People come in and just want to chat with us. We make quite a few friends.”

Like many Vinnies shops, Casino could use more volunteers—particularly younger ones.

“We’re mostly over 50,” Dianne says. “We have had young people volunteering in the past and it’s great to have them, to show them the skills.”

Her hope for the future is simple: to keep doing what she loves.

“Just do the same as I’m doing at present. Trying to get along with everyone,” she says with a smile.

Paula sums up Dianne’s contribution best:
“She is friendly, kind, supportive, shows great commitment and dedication to Vinnies, and I am very proud to nominate her. Dianne deserves all the recognition she can get. She is always open to learning, not afraid of change, embraces the retail mission of the Society—and is an all-round wonderful human being.”

Inspired by Dianne’s story? Join a community of compassionate, committed people making a real difference every day. Whether you can give a few hours a week or more, there’s a place for you at Vinnies.

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