‘I feel like I have found a friend from day one’

EMILY GRAY on the rewarding experience of a volunteer

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A NEWCASTLE-BASED volunteer is sharing insights into her ‘wonderful’ role after finding a friend ‘from day one.

Varsha Sehgal, a volunteer companion with Marie Curie, lends her time caring for people living with terminal illnesses in the region.

Having previously volunteered for Marie Curie since 2016, 47-year-old philanthropist Varsha is no stranger to charitable efforts and even runs The Serendipity Foundation with her husband.

The charity set up the first grief counselling unit for children with Marie Curie nearly three years ago.

But it was the one-to-one connection Varsha could form with a patient through the companion volunteer role she was seeking the most.

And in September 2024, Varsha was matched up with 30-year-old Hannah from Cullercoats.

Hannah is living with vanishing white matter disease - a rare genetic disorder that causes neurological deterioration.