Fab five sisters carry on family legacy of volunteering at Nambour’s St Vinnies

To mark National Volunteer Week from Monday 18 to Sunday 24 May 2026, St Vincent de Paul Society Queensland is celebrating the good works of volunteers across the state, including five Sunshine Coast sisters continuing a family legacy of helping others. 

This year’s National Volunteer Week theme, Your Year to Volunteer, honours current volunteers and invites all Australians to discover how giving their time can create connection, purpose and lasting community benefits. 

St Vincent de Paul Society is supported by 2689 Members and 5051 volunteers in Queensland, whose collective contribution is what makes the Society’s mission of giving vulnerable people a hand up possible. 

The five sisters volunteer through the Society’s St Joseph’s Nambour Conference, following in the footsteps of their parents, Jim and Margaret Arnold, who were both Vincentians and deeply committed to helping people in need. 

Through their work, the sisters help provide practical support while also working alongside people to find long-term solutions.

For the Arnold sisters, volunteering was never something they were told to do.  It was something they did every day from a young age, growing up helping their parents with initiatives that brought them closer to their family and community. 

“That’s what we do – we carry on our parents’ legacy by helping people, just like Mum and Dad did,” said one of the sisters Helen Minto. 

“It has brought us closer as sisters and is something meaningful we share. When we get together with our partners, they always have to remind us it’s not a Vinnies meeting!” said  sister Chris Gilmore. 

For Chris, retirement created the opportunity to give even more of her time to Vinnies. 

“When I finished work, I wanted to do something important, something where I continued learning, and where I could help others because while I can do it, I will do it.  The obvious choice was Vinnies,” she said. 

The sisters make the trip to Nambour each week to volunteer side-by-side, continuing a shared family commitment. 

They say the human connection is what makes the work so fulfilling, connecting with other volunteers and companions, a term for people the Society supports. 

“We learn so much from those we help as we journey with upholding the message giving ‘a hand up, not just a handout’.  It’s very satisfying when we can be involved in empowering those in need,” Chris said.  “Volunteering is simply about showing up with compassion and a willingness to help people get back on their feet,” Helen said. 

Chris said volunteering also gives back to those who give their time.  “People find skills they didn’t think they had, build connections, and become part of a community working together to support one another, ” she said. 

St Vincent de Paul Society Queensland State President, Trish McMahon said National Volunteer Week was an opportunity to thank volunteers for serving the vulnerable in our communities with the most valuable currency there is. 

“Our Members and Volunteers give something incredibly precious — their time,” she said. 

The Arnold family legacy continues with the next generation, with Chris’s daughter becoming an associate Member of the Conference. 

To find out more about volunteering opportunities with St Vincent de Paul Society Queensland, visit https://www.vinnies.org.au/get-involved/volunteering.

Main picture: The five sisters who volunteer at Nambour, from left, Peggy, Helen, Annette, Mary and Chris. Below: Parents Jim and Margaret Arnold.