Gilbert Brogden has been retired for almost 20 years, but he is working harder than ever.
The 82-year-old first helped out raising funds to cure MS and since then, volunteering has become a lifestyle.
Gilbert doesn’t drive a car and often wakes at 4am to get ready for the first bus from the Northern Beaches of Sydney.
In January he only had three days off between his commitments at the Asian Cup, tennis tournaments and wheelchair sports.
“It’s a bit of a sacrifice," he says. "I have to get up early in the morning and that. But it makes you feel good and makes you get out of bed, and I think that helps me as I get older."
Gilbert is one of some 4000 volunteers currently helping out at the Cricket World Cup.
His son – former NSW politician John Brogden – has cleared out thousands of shirts and hats from Gilbert’s flat, laughing as he says his Dad actually hasn’t had to wash a shirt for 20 years because he’s collected so many as a volunteer.
"It’s a bit of a sacrifice, I have to get up early in the morning and that, but it makes you feel good, and makes you get out of bed, and I think that helps me as I get older."
The Chairman of Lifeline, John knows that without volunteers like Gilbert, many events and charities simply wouldn’t function.
For Gilbert it’s a two-way street.
"Nearly all the big things I do have money go to charities. It makes you feel good," he says.
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