A Life of Service

Maxine Abblott always wanted an active and meaningful retirement. For the last eight years, she has maintained a busy but happy lifestyle by volunteering for ADRA.

Maxine started out by helping a few people every week, but now she is helping more than 200 people per week.

“I’m an on-the-ground type of person,” Maxine says. “I do love to get out there where people hurt, listening to their stories, trying to solve issues, trying to get people housing and helping them get jobs.”

Maxine provides fresh produce to people with low incomes. After seeing the financial struggle many experience to access fresh and healthy food, Maxine began sourcing and selling vegetables at wholesale prices to low income earners and pensioners. With support from the ADRA Op Shop in Ulverstone, Maxine delivers over 200 food parcels to people in the towns of Burnie, Wynyard, Somerset and Waratah.

“Other churches have been recommending that people get in touch with me to get fresh food,” Maxine says. “ADRA is now known as having the fresh veggies that people want!”

Maxine is also passionate about helping people out of employment to find work. With Maxine’s help, many people have been able to secure work, especially in the food industry.

And if all of this is not enough, a group of church members, including Maxine, are now looking to open an ADRA Op Shop in Waratah.

“It’s exhausting, but it’s rewarding,” Maxine says.

Our ADRA volunteers are amazing. Thank you, Maxine! And a big ‘Thank You’ to you, our thousands of volunteers, for your heart of service.

If you would like to become an ADRA volunteer, register here.