An OAM for Maureen

Maureen Davey has volunteered at Vinnies Alfredton for more than 30 years and, at 78, this amazing volunteer is still going strong. Recently, her work in the community was recognised with an OAM in the 2025 King’s Birthday Honours for service to people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Each week Maureen, who is blind and deaf, sorts and irons donations at Vinnies Alfredton to prepare them for sale. 

She strongly advocates volunteering for people with a disability and, thinking back over her career, she feels lucky to have received the encouragement she did.

"People with a disability have as much right to work as a volunteer or in paid employment as much as anybody else," she said.

Maureen is happy to recommend Vinnies as a volunteering option. She said for anyone looking to volunteering, they are one "big, happy family" at Vinnies and would love to have more volunteers join them. 

"The one thing we do need here is more volunteers – volunteers are very short here on any day of the week," she said.

The eldest of ten, Maureen received the first part of her schooling in Ballarat, then through a correspondence course and finally at the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind in Melbourne. It was in Melbourne, Maureen says she received essential life skills for independent living and for 45 years those skills and support have held true. 

Beyond her work with Vinnies, Maureen has been active in many roles supporting people with disabilities through local Ballarat networks and Vision Australia.

Maureen truly is an inspiration to all of us.

_______________________________________
Picture by Lachlan Bence © The Courier/ACM
Mitchell, E. 2023, 5 October. “Volunteer stalwart for nearly three decades Maureen Davey encourages people to get involved” The Courier (Ballarat) https://www.thecourier.com.au/story/7674490/not-going-anywhere-after-nearly-three-decades-this-vinnies-volunteer-is-still-going-strong [accessed 14 August 2025]