Desley Shelley honoured for 30 year for service to Guide Dogs Queensland

A Toowoomba woman has been honoured for her incredible commitment to one of Queensland’s most iconic charities, with its telemarketing centre now named after her.

Desley Shelley worked in the Guide Dogs Australia call centre until she was 79-years-old. The Brisbane centre has been named in her honour after she retired.

What started as a way to pay the bills after her husband developed cancer in her 50s developed into a passion for service that saw Desley Shelly work well past the official retirement age, as a tele-fundraiser for Guide Dogs Queensland.

Now the spry 80-year-old has been honoured for her service, naming the telemarketing centre after her.

Ms Shelley said she had enjoyed every minute of her late-life career.

“If you had told me that my journey with Guide Dogs Queensland, which started out of necessity, would transform into a nearly 30-year passion and commitment, I would have chuckled at you,” she said.

“It has been a privilege making a contribution to people’s lives in this way and I’ve always enjoyed speaking with supporters and sharing how Guide Dogs Queensland makes a difference,” she said.

“It makes me feel really proud, I just counted my blessings and kept on going.”

Ms Shelley started taking the job when the service operated a call centre in Toowoomba, with the last seven years spent working from her Centenary Heights home, after the service centralised its tele-fundraising operations.

Sadly, when Ms Shelly’s husband passed away she kept working.

“I liked the people I was working with and what they were doing, to help people who are blind,” she said.

The Brisbane centre has been named in Desley Shelley’s her honour after she retired at the age of 79, just short of her 80th birthday.

Over the course of her career, Ms Shelly raised more than $2 million for Guide Dogs Australia and made more than a million phone calls.

She said the secret was to be polite and have a clear message.

“I would be very nice to people and explain why what we did was important, but I know people cannot afford a lot of money these days.

“If someone was nasty to me I would be extra nice and eventually they’d come down off their high horse.

Guide Dogs Queensland CEO Jock Beveridge paid tribute to Ms Shelley’s commitment.

“Tele-fundraising requires a passion and commitment towards the cause that is unquestionable, and Desley demonstrated that in spades,” he said.

“Her work ethic and caring nature has seen her thrive over three decades – including through a pandemic – and I think it has been genuine.

“While we are sad to say goodbye to Desley, she has certainly earned her retirement and we wish her all the best in her next chapter.”