TWO decades after relocating to Perth from the United Kingdom, Paula Rathbone has double the reason to celebrate this month as she celebrates 20 years as a volunteer at Caversham Wildlife Park.

“Twenty years ago, my husband Andy and I took up an offer from his company to move from the UK to Perth for two years,” Mrs Rathbone said.

Having been given such an amazing opportunity Paula wanted to make the most of being in WA and decided to volunteer.

“I also wanted to give something back to the community which had made us feel so welcome and meet new people. I felt this should be something uniquely Australian – so where better than Caversham Wildlife Park,” she said.

According to data from Volunteering WA, there are 1.5 million people like Mrs Rathbone who volunteer their time to support clubs, organisations and events across Western Australia.

“I had previously visited the park whilst on holiday and I loved how hands-on and accessible the park was, as well as how friendly and welcoming the staff were.

“On our arrival in Perth, one of the very first things I did was to investigate opportunities to get involved at the park – I discovered their new volunteer scheme and applied straight away. After our two years we decided to stay in Perth and so two has now become 20 and counting.”

Mrs Rathbone, a primary school teacher from Bull Creek, said volunteering at Caversham had led to new friendships and she had learned a lot about Australian animals and witnessed the development of the park over the years.

“One of the best aspects of volunteering is meeting a huge variety of people from all over the world as well as locals,” she said.

“I love being able to make everyone’s visit that little bit more memorable and help their time at the park go smoothly. Spending time with the animals is also amazing.”

She has also inspired the rest of her family, including her sons Daniel and Ben - to follow in her footsteps and take up their own volunteering such as at Parkrun and being foster carers for dogs.

“It has been an honour to be part of the Caversham family, and I hope to be for many years to come.”

Volunteering WA chief executive officer Tina Williams said stories like Mrs Rathbone’s showed that when you volunteer, you often get back more than what you put in.

“For Paula, it was about finding her people and her place. She came to Australia looking for connection, and twenty years on, she’s not only found it, she’s helped create that same sense of welcome for thousands of others.”