A local volunteer

For the past three years Jann Seymour-Smith has volunteered each Wednesday morning on the City of Burnside Community Centre Desk and loves it. We talked to Jann about being a local and why she volunteers.

Jann was born at Monreith Hospital opposite the Burnside Civic Centre, which is now a nursing home, was raised close by in Toorak Gardens, and educated at PGC (now Seymour College). Now retired and living in Hazelwood Park, Jann would regularly bring her mother to the Burnside Library.

“I brought my mother to the Burnside Library so she could borrow books and DVDs for the week and have lunch at the café. After Mum died I found I had spare time on my hands and looked at volunteering opportunities.”

Her preference was to volunteer in the Library as her mother had gained so much pleasure from it. When there were no opportunities available at the Library Jann chose the Community Centre desk and has been volunteering there every Wednesday morning since.

“I love it,” Jann says. “I have got to know all the regular people in Wednesday classes including Dancing with Parkinson's, Acquired Brain Injury social group and the exercise groups. I love the staff and have lots of fun with Scotty,” (Helen Scott, fellow volunteer).

Jann met her husband David when he was singing at the Princeton Club held in the Burnside Ballroom. “I spent many Saturday nights there,” Jann says. “He also sang on Adelaide Tonight and through his work at Channel 9 we have made life-long friends with Anne Wills (Willsy), who we still see regularly. David and I recently enjoyed a lunch at Willsy’s with Mark Trevorrow (comedian Bob Down), Matt Gilbertson (aka Hans the German) and former Prime Minister, Julia Gillard. It was a very entertaining afternoon as you can imagine!”

Jann has one brother with whom she is very close but says her three grandchildren ‘are the loves of my life’. “I have had a fabulous and interesting life,” Jann says. “I love to travel, adore reading and have recently learnt Sudoku.” Jann and her husband walk daily in Hazelwood Park with their dog Bertie, a 6-year-old West Highland Terrier.

Jann also used to be in a tennis group but says with age “hips, knees and eyesight start to go so now we mainly meet for coffee!”

“I love living in Burnside and have lots of friends here.” Jann says. “I love going to Burnside Village and the many restaurants and cafes.”