Maz’s Story

Marion, known to all as Maz, began her volunteering journey at the hospice just over two years ago. Before this, she worked for another hospice as an Admin Supervisor and managed other volunteers for over 11 years, until she retired in December 2023. Here is her story.

A New Opportunity

“I knew about Wigan & Leigh Hospice and the care it provides simply through living in the borough, and when I retired, I knew I couldn’t be sat still all the time.

I enquired about volunteering here and explained how I had a lot of admin experience, having worked in a hospice before looking after their team of volunteers. I wanted to continue working for a hospice, because it really makes me feel like I am contributing to something positive.

Previously to working for another hospice, I worked for the police, and someone from Marie Curie came in to discuss volunteering opportunities. I ended up running a local fundraising group from the back of that, and my first challenge was abseiling off the Co-Op building in Manchester!

As much as I love Wigan & Leigh Hospice, I am not doing that again!

New experiences

My current volunteering role is a mixture of helping the Governance team and helping the volunteering team. I have met so many people through my volunteering role, and it’s good fun – some of my volunteer colleagues are now my friends. I assist both teams with administrative tasks, and the Volunteering team with recruitment tasks. I previously helped the Facilities team too, assisting with paperwork and filing tasks.

I enjoy that I am left to get on with things in my own time and I enjoy interacting with other staff members and volunteers. Everyone is so friendly at the hospice and people say hello even if you don’t know them.

I feel very appreciated for my role at the hospice, the teams I work with are always thanking me. I say I don’t need to be thanked – I just want to help and do whatever they need me to do!

People are frightened of the word hospice, but you will never be in a happier place. I would recommend being a volunteer at Wigan & Leigh Hospice to anybody.”

If you would like to join the Hospice team, see our current vacancies here.

Published May 2025