Jan Ramsdale was waiting to pick up a little boy from his foster carer’s house when a young man brought home just how critical her volunteer role was in children’s lives.

“I was sitting in the car waiting, when this lad in his 20s came up to me and said, ‘Thank you for what you do’,” she says.

“He said, ‘I was one of those kids once and you guys came and picked me up’.

“That just blew me away – that there are children out there that have really been helped by what we do.”

The young man, who had remained with his carer after reaching adulthood, was a foster sibling of the little boy Jan was there to transport.

After a career spent in human services and the courts, the southern suburbs woman wasn’t ready to stop supporting others – and that drive led to her volunteer role with the Department for Child Protection (DCP).

She is among about 180 people assisting children through a range of tasks, from driving them to school and visits with family members, to supporting them with homework and attendance at community events.

Most of the 72-year-old’s volunteer work involves transporting children, but she has also helped with other tasks, such as visiting them while they’re in hospital.

“I love it,” she says. “You see children grow up and change, and it’s fabulous to see the progress they go through. You see DCP workers, carers and vollies have a part in that and it’s just like a village family.

“Because you predominantly drive the same children, a lot recognise you in the child care centres and they’ll come running towards you.”

Jan began volunteering soon after retiring from her paid working life, which had included managing a court dealing with family law matters in Darwin. She also managed the Halls Creek Centrelink branch in The Kimberley in Western Australia and worked throughout the Top End of the NT and the Kimberley region of WA during the roll-out of the cashless welfare card.

This experience working in areas with large indigenous populations, she says, helped her understand how to support and connect with Aboriginal children.

For example, she recalls a warm exchange between herself and a girl she met at DCP’s Noarlunga office, before driving her to Port Wakefield.

“When I walked into the office she was waiting for me. She looked at me and said, ‘How you doing, Auntie?’ and I said, ‘I’m good sis’ and we had a good chat – she was just a kid who wanted to go home.”

The Department for Child Protection is sharing Jan’s story as part of National Volunteer Week (19-25 May).

Events are being hosted across Adelaide and regional areas to thank volunteers for the important roles they play in creating safe and supportive environments for children in care.

To find out more about volunteering with DCP, visit childprotection.sa.gov.au/volunteers.