By Emma Sun
LONG-TIME Living and Learning Pakenham (LLINC) volunteer John Goff celebrated two milestones recently – his 96th birthday on Friday and his 16th year in the management committee.
Mr Goff, who lives in Meadowvale Village, was thrown a party at his daughter’s Glen Waverley home on Saturday and about 20 of his family and relatives gathered for the occasion.
The staff at the village also threw a party, along with those who also had birthdays in December.
He suspected the reason for his longevity was partly due to his parents, and partly due to his lifestyle as a child.
“I began life with very good genes, my mother lived to 94 and dad to 99 so I think that was a good start,” he said.
“I grew up on a small farm where we grew our own vegetables with our own cows and chooks. We grew up on very healthy food and lived life fairly simply and all through the years I’ve tried to live sensibly.”
He said being a volunteer for more than 30 years has also been good for his health.
“Just having something to work for, something to get up for every morning, is great,” he said.
“Although I have retired, to know that I still haven’t reached my use-by date, that there is still something that I was able to do, I think this is very important for elderly people, to have that feeling, otherwise you could quite easily vegetate and give in and very quickly go downhill.”
Mr Goff began volunteering at LLINC when it was a small drop-in centre for mums.
He said the amount of people using the centre has dramatically increased since then, with close to 1000 people getting together for various activities.
“I’ve been very happy to be part of this progress and quite proud to feel I’ve been part of this very quickly developing community organisation.”
The thing he enjoys the most is meeting new people and making new friends.
“You get to meet so many people from different countries of the world who have come to the centre to do some of the many courses we offer like English, computers and art,” he said.
“I also go down every Wednesday to a lunch called Friendly Bites, run by a group of volunteers who assist people, especially new people coming into Pakenham, to meet one another and to make friends.”
Mr Goff said he was glad to celebrate his birthday with his friends and family.
“It’s nice to know that you’re remembered.”
