From young volunteer to PhD candidate

Eight years ago, a notice in the school newsletter caught Julia Plank's eye.

Then in her final year at Epsom Girls' Grammar School, Julia saw Elizabeth Knox Home and Hospital was looking for volunteers to spend time with its residents. The care home was close to where Julia lived, and she thought it would be a cool thing to do in her free time.

Now 25 years old and a PhD candidate at the University of Auckland, Julia says her decision to put her hand up to volunteer with elderly people has shaped her life, as well as influenced her research into brain inflammation.

Her passion for volunteering soon led to a role recruiting and coordinating other volunteers, and aged 19, Julia founded Elder Care Volunteers to connect more rest homes with volunteers.

The charitable organisation has now been recognised with a MAS Here for Good scholarship, to help her expand into more homes and find more volunteers.

Forging fast friendships

While she felt nervous the first time she volunteered at Elizabeth Knox, Julia soon developed close friendships with the home's residents. 

"I'm naturally quite introverted, but the residents were really lovely. I started visiting certain people every time I went and could see what a difference it made to their lives. But it also made a big difference to me. It's a really grounding experience. When you're there, you can't think about anything else – you're focused on listening to the person you're with."

One retirement home resident was particularly influential on Julia. 

"I met Dave in 2015. We started chatting in the lounge one day, and I just kept visiting him. Dave had terminal prostate cancer, but he didn't have any family in New Zealand, didn't have a partner or children, and didn't have anyone visiting him. We formed a really close bond."

R-L: Julia, Dave and other volunteers

Julia was soon asked to work part-time as the home's volunteer coordinator while studying for her undergraduate degree in psychology. She continued her close friendship with Dave, as well as getting other volunteers to spend time with him too. 

"I accompanied Dave to his radiotherapy appointments, watched the Queen's message with him on Christmas Day and bought him his favourite meal on his birthday: a McDonalds cheeseburger and fries. When Dave passed, I organised his cremation and memorial service. 

"It was a joy to spend time with him. Both of my grandfathers passed away before I was born, so it was really meaningful for me to have this connection with him."

Setting up and expanding

Working as a volunteer coordinator at Elizabeth Knox meant Julia wasn't spending as much time with residents, so she started looking for another rest home to continue volunteering in. 

"I was really shocked when I couldn't find anywhere else to volunteer. We had so many volunteers at Elizabeth Knox that we had to turn people away, and it seemed ridiculous to me that there were so many people wanting to get involved but care homes didn't have volunteer programmes."

Seeing a need for a more cohesive care home volunteer programme in Auckland, Julia set up her charitable organisation Elder Care Volunteers. Just 19 at the time, Julia met with management teams at Cornwall Park Hospital and Aria Park Retirement Village and explained the benefits of integrating volunteers into care home environments. 

"I'm not sure how much confidence they had in me at that stage because I was so young, but they came on board. I got volunteers into both the homes, and it made a huge difference."

Tackling loneliness and boredom

The organisation aims to help volunteers form long-term friendships with residents, reducing loneliness and boredom. 

"We don't tell volunteers who to talk to, but we introduce them to residents and might point out someone we know is lonely or doesn't get a lot of visitors."

Residents who have strong social connections with volunteers often seem happier and have improved cognitive function, says Julia. Volunteers also get a lot out of spending time with elderly people. 

"Young people are actually the loneliest group in New Zealand. But when you're volunteering, you have to put everything else aside. You put social media away and be really present with people. I really do think it helps to alleviate loneliness," says Julia. 

"Some of our volunteers are high school students, and through volunteering, they learn about new career pathways and get to know the older generation. We've had residents teaching volunteers skills like knitting, and that kind of things reminds residents they have something to offer the community."

From volunteer to PhD candidate

Julia is currently working on a PhD looking at how to measure brain inflammation, which is observed in neurodegenerative conditions like dementia and Alzheimer's disease as well as in mental health conditions like depression and anxiety.

"Almost all the residents I spend time with have dementia, so they'll be experiencing brain inflammation, but we don't know what role brain inflammation actually plays in dementia and similar conditions.

"Hopefully once we can measure brain inflammation, we can find ways to alleviate it."

Through volunteering, Julia discovered the devastating impact dementia has on sufferers and their families, which has influence her studies.

"This person who they thought was their mother or father has become a completely different person. Their son or daughter ends up thinking what's the point in me visiting if this person isn't the parent I knew when I was growing up? Volunteers can help fill the gap there.

"Seeing this first-hand definitely influenced my undergraduate studies, where I was mainly focused on developmental psychology, and has influenced me to go on to do neuroscience."

If you're interested in becoming a volunteer with Elder Care Volunteers, find out more here.