The story of Grace James should change your life – and encourage you to volunteer | Jess Adamson

Meet Grace James – a mother, mechanic, farmer, pianist and cook. Her remarkable life should encourage you to change yours, writes Jess Adamson.

I’ve recently returned from a blissful week on Kangaroo Island with family and friends – a school holiday adventure packed with fishing, exploring and plenty of good food and wine.

On one of our daily trips we noticed some fresh flowers on a prominent sign at Cygnet River, marking an intersection known as Grace James Corner.

We wondered who Grace was and it didn’t take us long to find out. This is a woman who made an unforgettable impact on her community.

Grace James was a mother to six children, a grandmother to 16, great-grandmother to 22 and great-great-grandmother to five.

She was born in 1923 and spent her early years milking cows, making bread and butter and cutting eucalyptus leaf and yacca gum.

As a young woman she kept cows, sheep and turkeys to earn her keep and forged a reputation as an outstanding cook.

Grace James. Picture: Supplied

Grace married twice. Her first husband Archie was killed in a car accident, just eight years after they wed. But it was her later years that caught my attention.

She cooked for the Lions Club, for local shearing teams and for weddings and parties. She catered for tourist buses in her garden, cleaned the golf club, arranged the church flowers, taught Sunday school, volunteered for Meals on Wheels and Probus, played Scrabble at the drop-in centre, helped the elderly with their gardens (many of them younger than her), visited the sick in hospital and helped with the World War II civilian effort.

She learnt post office and telephone exchange skills, and worked at the local tearooms, Kingscote Council, two hotels, a tourist lodge and several shops.

In her spare time, Grace did mechanical repairs of 32V lighting plant engines, lawnmowers, water pumps and car engines. She painted houses and cars, enjoyed carpentry and hairdressing. She played the piano and the organ and regularly performed at Christmas parties.

Tennis and softball were her regular sports and she cheered on her beloved Crows from her living room.

Grace James was an extraordinary rural woman who gave everything to her community. You’d be hard pressed to find many like her today.

We’re living in a time of enormous change. Life is hectic. Many of us feel we’re on a constant treadmill with not a moment to take a breath.

And so it’s hardly surprising that in the 10 years leading up to Covid, South Australia lost 65 per cent of its formal volunteers – that’s those who turn up on the same day every week or month. It’s an alarming statistic. Before Covid, one million South Australians were volunteering, delivering $5bn in value to our economy.

It’s not clear how many volunteers we have on the books as we emerge from Covid, but what we’re learning is that South Australians still want to give their time – on their terms.

The volunteer of 2022 and beyond is looking for more flexibility and less red tape. They want to drop in when they can, preferably without the burden of a police check, a working-with-vulnerable-people clearance, proof of vaccination and a safety induction.

Hutt St Centre volunteers. Picture: Supplied

Covid has seen an increase in volunteers in some sectors – because in the darkest days of the pandemic, we actually missed each other. We missed feeling connected with the community. But the pandemic also saw older volunteers step back for health reasons – and they simply haven’t returned.

In our regions, the CFS and SA Ambulance Service rely on volunteers – and right now, many are short. So how do we make it easier to get involved? And how do we embed volunteering in our children so that it becomes a lifelong habit?

At our RSPCA shelters there are five less volunteers each day compared to this time last year – and they’re spending less time there. The animal intake is up and they need our help.

Volunteering SA is working with the state government, building programs within our schools to get our young people on board early. That can’t come soon enough. They’re also preparing to launch an app just for sporting organisations with the help of the Recreation and Sport Department.

Right now, clubs across the state are struggling to find coaches and office bearers. We’re seeing some fold as a result. The app will allow the club to cast the net in their local area. So, a retired accountant in Brighton might just find themselves as the treasurer of the Henley Sharks footy club, even though they don’t have a child at the club. That’s a win.

At the Hutt St Centre, 60 per cent of volunteers are long term – they are the bedrock of the organisation.

But thanks to a growing social responsibility, Hutt St now has a backlog of eager local businesses lined up, wanting to do more than just give money. They want to serve the homeless and do some team building at the same time.

Hutt St Centre volunteer Paula. Picture: Supplied

Some companies are now giving their people two or more days off a year to volunteer. We need to harness and encourage this movement, or we’ll fall critically short. Our charities need to adapt quickly, making it simpler for those who want to sign up, to do it with minimal fuss. Of course, we need the security checks, but does it have to be quite so hard and expensive?

It’s time we encouraged volunteers not just to serve soup or pack boxes, but to donate their skills. Accounting, governance, legal, plumbing – whatever they have.

We’ve got pretty good at working online – a lot of this work could be done from our homes.

As we emerge from the pandemic, we have a golden opportunity to start building the future volunteer.

Our children need to be ready to rise up when we need them. And we need to show them early that volunteering is a two-way street – it gives us purpose, builds self-esteem and teaches life skills. It builds strong and vibrant communities.

UK-born adventurer Steve Bell, who now calls SA home, has climbed the Seven Summits, the highest mountains on seven continents.

But he’s recently become involved with Operation Flinders Foundation, an organisation transforming the lives of young people facing challenges.

“Of all the things I’ve done, of all the mountains I’ve climbed, I can’t think of anything more rewarding than giving back to these kids,” he says.

A 2022 Social Impact Report commissioned by Meals on Wheels revealed their volunteers have a 10 per cent higher level of wellbeing than the ordinary Australian.

So, if you haven’t put your hand up to help, do it now. There’s a volunteer in each and every one of us.

On Kangaroo Island, a community still recovering from the bushfires, the locals know volunteering better than anyone.

They’ve spent the past three years rebuilding their neighbours’ homes, their sheds, their fences – and in many cases, their lives.

It’s an effort Grace James would be proud of. Grace died eight years ago, aged 91. Her son Kevin paid tribute at her funeral.

“Before going to bed on April 7, Mum would have stoked the fire. She went to bed to sleep, to sleep and sleep. Then the kitchen fire went out …”

Amazing Grace. Your legacy is one we can all learn from.