With thousands upon thousands of volunteers working in Christian organisations across Australia, the fact that one of them has received recognition as ‘Volunteer of the Year’ is perhaps no surprise.

But what if we told you the winner of the Fundraising Institute of Australia (FIA)’s annual ‘Volunteer of the Year’ Award was 89 year old Wyn Finlayson, who has been selling homemade jam to raise money for Christian children’s NFP Compassion Australia. According to Compassion, Mrs Finlayson has volunteered hundreds of hours to the organisation, speaking at events, manning Compassion stands and seeing more than 230 children sponsored as a result over the past 24 years.

Wyn Finlayson and her husband with their Compassion sponsor children

Compassion’s Child Advocate Network Coordinator Melissa French says Mrs Finlayson has become an inspiration to Compassion, who doesn’t let age stand in the way of her passion for volunteering.

“When age began making it difficult for Wyn to be as active as she once was, she decided to start selling homemade jam – made from a recipe passed down from her mother – to raise money for Compassion’s work,” said Melissa.

“Wyn uses every opportunity to speak to people in her sphere of influence including her butcher, hairdresser and her doctor!” Melissa says younger volunteers often aspire to be just like Mrs Finlayson.

Compassion Australia’s Chief Operating Officer Jeff Nagle says the organisation chose to nominate Mrs Finlayson because of her humility and passion she brings to every fundraising and volunteering activity she undertakes.

“Her determination and desire to make a difference in our world has inspired countless others to take action too,” he said in a statement today.

The award was announced on Friday 8 March at FIA’s National Awards for Excellence in Sydney. Unfortunately Mrs Finlayson was unable to accept her award in person, due to the recent passing of her husband. But she told Compassion that age, wealth and ability “should never stop people from doing something for kids who desperately need our help.”

“When you think that 19,000 kids die every day from preventable things, you’ve got to do something. Last year, I gave $900 altogether from my jam money. It’s a little, isn’t it? A drop in the bucket. But like Mother Teresa said, ‘the ocean would be much less without that drop.’”