Volunteer Voices: Supporting Those Living with Vision Loss - Jennifer Bowie

August 2026

How long Jennifer Bowie has been volunteering with the Alexandra Blind Low Vision Community Support Group is a matter up for debate. Records show it’s about 10 years but her stories belie a much longer period of dedicated service.

Jennifer does remember her first stint involved being a door to door collector for what was then The Foundation for the Blind. She says not everyone was happy to see her. “I remember a lovely lady coming to the door but in the background a man was telling her to tell me to…well that’s not fit for publication.”

The Alexandra Community Support Group is the local arm of the large national organisation Blind Low Vision New Zealand which provides emotional and practical support for 15,590 registered New Zealanders with vision loss.

Among the many services the Alexandra Community Support Group offers is organising a monthly get together of its members.

This is where Jennifer and her mighty Toyota Vitz come in, providing the way for members from Cromwell, Clyde, Alexandra, Roxburgh and Millers Flat to get to and from the meeting and if necessary to do some chores.

Jennifer says “These meetings are very important to our members. They might not be able to see each other well but they chat away together and they are a place where they can be with others who know exactly what it is like to live with vision impairment..”

Born in Dunedin Jennifer is from a nursing background. She was married in 1962 and laughs when she says “I actually missed my own wedding reception. After the ceremony my husband fell ill and had to be hospitalised. We only managed to call in on the way and get a couple of photos of us cutting the cake. I heard it was a good party.”

She and her husband became stalwarts of the Alexandra community with their centrally positioned shops starting with a variety store which was eventually burnt down. “Yes, it was traumatic but you just got on with it,” says Jennifer.

And they did, opening another shop selling toys and hardware and later a Four Square store.

As a result the pair came to know most of the Alexandra community. Jennifer says “It's a good place to live. People are kind and friendly. Knowing the people around you is such a gift.”

Retired now, Jennifer is as busy as ever. She is an active member of her church and a longstanding member of the Clyde Lions Club where she says “I don’t do the big jobs anymore, I leave that up to the young people but I enjoy doing the odd stint selling raffle tickets at the supermarket.”

These days Jennifer’s happy place can be found when she is visiting friends, helping others where she can and when the sun is shining she can be found sitting outside her family home enjoying her garden and the lawn which her son mows.”

The message from this absolute gem of the community to others considering giving volunteering a go: “Get in and do it. It’s highly unlikely you will regret it and you might just love it.”

Written by Juliette Hicks, Volunteer South's volunteer storyteller.