Pam Tremlett and her sister Di King have never been good at sitting still.
Several days a week, the sisters, aged 78 and 81, can be found volunteering at the Reverend Bill Crews Foundation in Ashfield, quietly forming part of the backbone of its meal service for people doing it tough. They arrive early, get on with the job, and rarely seek attention for the work they do.
“We’ve always believed in being useful,” Pam says. “If you can help, you help.”
Both sisters grew up in a household where volunteering was simply part of everyday life. That sense of responsibility carried into adulthood, shaping careers and choices over decades.
Pam trained as a nurse and midwife in the late 1960s, working in high-pressure hospital environments across Sydney and regional NSW before later moving into community and church-based work.
Di’s life took her through emergency services, disability support, and community volunteering, including years with the fire brigade, the SES, and ambulance services.
At the Bill Crews Foundation, their roles are practical and deliberately behind the scenes. Di works in the kitchen, helping prepare food and keeping the operation moving smoothly. Pam works nearby, rolling cutlery and preparing supplies for the food vans that head out across Sydney.
“It might not look like much,” Pam says, “but without knives and forks, people can’t eat. Every part of it matters.”
While they work separately during the day, the sisters are often called on together outside official hours. When situations fall between the cracks, whether late-night hospital discharges, food and supplies for people in crisis, Rev Crews often turns to Pam and Di for help.
“We go together, we don’t ask questions, and we don’t stay long,” Di explains. “We do what’s needed and then we leave quietly.”
Over time, the sisters have become trusted figures in moments that don’t appear on rosters or reports. They say the work isn’t about fixing lives but about showing up when someone needs another human being.
“It might just be dropping off groceries, or giving someone a lift,” Pam says. “But sometimes that’s enough to remind a person they’re not invisible.”
Both women say volunteering has given their later years structure and purpose. It keeps them active and part of a wider community.
“You get far more back than you ever put in,” Di says. “It’s a reason to get up in the morning. Every day is different.”
For Pam, the motivation remains simple. “I can’t bear the thought of someone being alone when a small kindness could make a difference,” she says.
After decades of separate lives, Pam and Di now work side by side again, showing that purpose doesn’t have an expiry date, and that volunteering, at any age, can be a powerful way to stay connected.
“As long as we’re able,” Di says, “we’ll keep turning up.”
Images: Supplied
