WHEN Mitchell Dowling’s mother gave him an ultimatum he took it seriously.
“Mum said if I wanted a computer I had to get a job,” Mitchell said.
While the 20-year-old Redcliffe City student looked for paid employment three years ago, he began offering his time at the Catholic Women’s League (CWL) coffee lounge on the lower ground floor of Brisbane’s Catholic Centre.
Coffee lounge convenor Marj Williams said Mitchell, who initially volunteered every weekday, was “heaven sent”.
“The first day Mitchell walked in it was just me and one other,” she said.
“I thought he was a godsend.”
Since commencing a graphic design course this year and following a break, Mitchell now greets regulars and guests up to three times a week.
Marj described their youngest volunteer as “bright, bubbly and fun to work with”.
“Mitchell makes all the ladies laugh,” she said.
“The first thing they say (when they arrive) is, ‘Where’s Mitchell?’
“They miss him when he’s not here … you can ask him to do anything.”
At first appearing shy and unsure, Marj said Mitchell has “blossomed” over the years.
She is hopeful others will offer time in the coffee lounge saying, “The ladies who volunteer are getting older and those in their sixties are still having to work or are babysitting grandchildren.”
Marj would love to hear from anyone else able to help.
“We have a young lass who comes down in her lunch hour and helps out,” Marj said.
“She’s a separated lady with two young children … she just walked in one day and said, ‘Can I help you?'”
To find out more about volunteering in the CWL coffee lounge in Brisbane city phone (07) 3336 9240.
– Selina Harris
