Nick Atkinson

Volunteer

It’s early morning and outside the entrance of Waikato Hospital there is a slow procession of people walking in and out the front doors. At the shuttle stop waits Nick Atkinson, a 22-year-old man determined to show the world that the youth of today is capable of helping.

Every Monday morning for the past two years I have spent volunteering at the hospital. In the golf cart, known as the shuttle bug, I drive patients and visitors around the grounds making their time spent at the hospital an easier one.

Being at the hospital first thing on a Monday is definitely a great start to the week. My mum, Chris Atkinson, is the volunteer coordinator at the hospital. Both my parents are my inspiration; without them I would not be where I am today.

The shuttle bug service, which has been operating for five years, is a huge success. It means that patients and visitors are able to be driven around the hospital for free. The service is used mainly by elderly people who cannot make the distance and people who are too sick to walk.

Throughout my time volunteering I have come across a lot of memorable situations. Once I came across a pair of legs sticking out of a bush. It was an intoxicated man who had fallen into one of the gardens. I put him on the back of the shuttle bug and escorted him to the Henry Bennett centre.

People are surprised when they learn that my job is unpaid. In this day and age they do not expect someone my age to be volunteering. But I wanted to do something to help. It really is not hard to give up a few hours a week. Just do it.

One of the best things about my job is driving the shuttle bug and the fact that I am allowed to talk on the phone when driving. I feel like a real rebel when I go past the cops.

Some of the happiest people I have dealt with are people from the cancer lodge. They come in for chemotherapy every day, almost dying, yet they are always the most upbeat people.

Because my aunty died of cancer I feel I can empathise with the families visiting sick relatives. I wear a live strong bracelet in remembrance of her. This is just a small thing I can do.

The hardest things I have dealt with has been taking families up to the mortuaries and dealing with people who have lost loved ones. There is nothing you can say to that. You just have to treat people with respect.

Interviewed by Vicky Way and Kimmy Gilbert
Photograph by Claudia Aalderink