Six decades of volunteering and still going strong

Ralph Monk is living proof that one is never too old to help out. The 93-year-old man was recently honoured for his six-decade long devotion to helping others without expecting anything in return.

Poole mayor Councillor Chris Bulteel presented Ralph with the aware for his “outstanding commitment to volunteering.”

As a grandfather, one of the things Ralph enjoys doing is listening to children read. At the other extreme of the age range, he works to provide companionable conversation by phone to lonely residents.

This extraordinary gentleman already began his volunteering work during the Second World War, when he volunteered in an Indian hospital laboratory. He said: “I joined the medical corps because I wasn’t fit enough to be in a fighting unit…after I retired, it became a big part of my life. I can’t recommend volunteering enough.”

Clearly, financial compensation or even the public recognition he recently received is not the main attraction for Ralph Monk. Instead of bridge or bowling clubs, he finds that it’s “a great way of meeting new people” even while he makes a difference in their lives.

According to the Bournemouth Echo, Mr Monk does not intend to stop any time soon; it is his intention to go on with this valuable work for as long as he can.

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