The North Shore Senior Volunteer of the Year 2022 dedicates most of her time to supporting vulnerable women to rebuild their lives, achieve economic independence and fulfill their aspirations.
Every woman has a story; stories that are not always a fairy tale.
Shirley Beaumont Owles knows that well, motivating her to dedicate most of her free time to helping vulnerable women have a positive turn on their lives by giving them the tools to write their well-deserved happily ever after.
A long-time Mosman local, Shirley was named North Shore Senior Volunteer of the Year 2022 as part of the NSW Volunteer of the Year Awards – a celebration that highlight the tireless work of volunteers across the state.
The award was not a surprise for the people around her. Seven years of service and over 1,000 volunteer hours for charity Dress for Success helping more than 300 women to get their lives together made Shirley the perfect candidate. To her, it was totally unexpected.
“I knew Dress for Success had nominated me because they need your permission, but I was surprised at that. It was lovely. I had no idea that I would win the Phoenix Award. I was gobsmacked when they called me out. I was quite emotional, actually. It’s a huge, huge honour and I’m very humbled by it all,” she says.
Shirley dedicates much of her time to Dress for Success, an organisation that supports more than 2,500 women across NSW to overcome bias when re-entering the workforce, including non- binary individuals and transgenders. There, she works closely with women from various backgrounds, including female prisoners, domestic violence victims and refugees. Her role is not only as a stylist, but also includes placing clients in the workshops run by the charity to practice interviews, learn CV writing and creating a LinkedIn profile to be industry ready.
Shirley was awarded North Shore Volunteer of the Year 2022.
And that is not all. With the stamina of a teenager, Shirley also manages to invest the rest of her time as an active part of the local Rotary Club and a member of a few committees, and is involved with the corrective services program, particularly with work health safety policies and preparing women with clothing selection for court appearances or for release.
“I’ve sort of got lots of different hats on! I’m 73 years of age, and I’ve actually volunteered in different areas throughout my whole life. I’m quite energetic, I guess. I can’t say no if it’s a cause I think is very worthy and I feel I can help,” she says.
Shirley says the key for success is to “have enthusiasm, knowing what you believe in and being passionate about something” and the greatest pay off for dedicating herself to that passion are the smile on the faces of the women she assists.
To celebrate the International Women’s Day, and in line with her commitment to help every woman overcome the barrier of unemployment and get financial independence, Shirley will be participating in the Empower Hour with Dress for Success during the month of March – a campaign that aims to ask Australians to pledge an hour of pay in support.
“I believe that people are a necessity of life. If we don’t have people in our lives, what do we have? I think we need people, like we need water and air and oxygen.
“To know that we are making a change in these women’s lives, making an impact and being able to build their confidence and resilience and restore their dignity, it makes your life much richer,” she says proudly.
“My life is so much more enriched with what I do. You get a sense of achievement, and if you can give somebody confidence it makes you feel a lot better about yourself and gives you a sense of purpose.”