Women join volunteer exchange program

Two Woy Woy residents are among the newest members of a volunteer exchange program which has been trialled on the Central Coast since August of last year.

Ms Anna Marcella and Ms Grace Wu have recently become part of the 3,800 member strong program running across the Central Coast and Hunter regions.

Ms Wu came to the Central Coast area from China two years ago and joined Timebanking as she was looking for volunteering opportunities and community involvement.

Ms Marcella is a keen traveller and has, over the years, learnt a number of languages.

After looking through the many offers on Timebanking, she came across Mandarin lessons and decided she would like to participate.

Ms Marcella contacted Ms Wu and both women agreed that a casual, conversational approach would be suitable.

The women now meet each week for a couple of hours at Woy Woy Library.

The bonus for Ms Wu has been that she is brushing up on her English skills, while Ms Marcella learns Mandarin.

They have also become friends in the process.

Email, 17 Dec 2013

Jane Tenney, Timebanking