Brad's story

The day I spend volunteering at Livewire is the best day of my week. When I took a short break to travel, one of the things I missed most about home was volunteering.

It's hard to describe, but the feeling you get from giving your time to others that are less fortunate than yourself is hard to come by from anything else.

I volunteer on Wednesday nights which for a time now has been "Squiggle-It" night. This is a drawing competition that all teens can be part of - although I sometimes submit a rogue entry if I have creative juices flowing.

A shift will generally start with a couple of ward rounds, dropping off the drawing competition pages, checking in with the teens to see if they need anything, and delivering games and arts and craft activities.

After dinner, the debating begins about which drawing is the best. It's usually a really tough decision as the teens are fantastic drawers. We'll then go live on Starlight TV to announce our winners and display the entrant's drawings.

The rest of the evening is spent dropping off prizes and any other packages to the wards, chilling in the room with some teens playing pool, video games, boardgames, and heading out to play some bigger games with a bunch of teens on their ward. These big games on the wards usually bring so much laughter, it draws the attention of all the nurses and parents on the ward. After a clean-up and pack down of the room, the evening is done.

I've always been an outgoing person willing to try all sorts of different things and I think the best volunteers are those that won't hesitate to engage in activities out of their comfort zone.

I've even had some mini piano lessons during some shifts, and I've had some awesome jam sessions on bass guitar with an amazing young man, Andy, on drums.

One of my favourite times volunteering was embellishing on a scene from one of my favourite films, The Pursuit of Happiness. While playing some Mario Kart with a young boy, the console suddenly shut down and I could sense his frustration.

So I improvised. I explained we had entered a secret race map you could only play with your eyes closed. I sat back and watched this boy's imagination run wild as he "drove" through his own Mario Kart level with his eyes shut and a big smile on his face. He won of course.

When he left, I heard him tell his Mum how much fun he was having at hospital. That's what my volunteering is all about.

There was another time a Livewire Facilitator, Ryan, and I dressed up in our homemade Transformers costumes and wandered the hospital halls. Kids, parents, nurses and doctors all stopped in amazement, laughing, and even took photos as we crouched down, transforming ourselves into vehicles to the sounds from the movie coming from the in-built Bluetooth speaker in our costumes.

I had a career in the music industry for a number of years and being able to draw on some artistic creativity with the teens is a great way to quickly find something they are interested in doing.

Starlight, and in particular, the Livewire program has given me an avenue to teach myself some new skills within the arts, cultivate an interest for them and finally share them amongst the broader community. The weekly shift at Livewire is time that I can relax and forget about whatever else I have going on at that moment and just chill out over some fun and games. Everyone needs some time to destress.

The other volunteers I work with are very like-minded people who are easy to get along with. I have made lifelong friendships with other Livewire volunteers.

Being a volunteer with Starlight gives you the flexibility to find a time that suits you. This means when you are present you can really give your all to the program.

Being a volunteer also opens you up to being part of other events whether that be the Starlight Purple Haze day or a day out on the river learning to sail alongside some of the kids and families of Starlight.

If you have time to give and the drive to share your free time with others and make a child's time in hospital that little bit more enjoyable, then come on board.

It is the most worthwhile thing you will do with your free time and you never know, you may find an interest in something that you would never have tried anywhere else.

If you think the under 12s would be a little too chaotic for you and you want to spend a bit more time in smaller groups playing boardgames or card games, do consider volunteering with teens in the Livewire program. I am really fortunate in that I have volunteered in both Livewire and the Starlight Express Room, and was able to find that I enjoyed the more personal one-on-one interactions with the teenagers that Livewire program.

Plus if you have an artistic skill to share, Livewire is the best place for it.

Starlight and the Livewire program have a truly positive impact on the community, and it is such a good feeling to be part of something so great. Volunteering with the group, no matter how long for, will stay with you for the rest of your life.