Historical information

The Arthritis Foundation of Victoria (AFV) recognised the need to make its services accessible to a broad section of the community. As a telephone counsellor for the AFV, multi-lingual volunteers such as Patricia Papadopoulos made it possible for the Foundation to offer referral and information services in languages other than English. his photo appears on page 6 of the Vol 4 No 2, Winter 1991 issue of the Arthritis Foundation of Victoria's quarterly magazine, Arthritis Update. It accompanies an article on Patricia's personal journey with arthritis, titled "Losing and Winning". The photo is captioned: "Mrs. Patricia Papadopolous, volunteer telephone counsellor, on the job." The photo also appears on 11 of the 1991 Annual Report with the caption: "Mrs. Patricia Papadopoulos, volunteer telephone counsellor, is the recipient of this year's Margaret Strang Award for outstanding service to the Foundation."

Physical description

Black and white photo of a woman sitting at a desk with a telephone, a desk calender, and other miscellaneous items. She is holding open an information booklet while holding the telephone receiver to her ear. There are typed pieces of paper stuck on the wall next to and facing her, and various leaflets, brochures and other paperwork in some small pigeonholes on the wall. There is a large noticeboard on the wall, above the pigeonholes.

Inscriptions & markings

[Handwritten in thick black pencil] 11/78% ["78%" has been circled] [On a yellow sticky note, handwritten in black ink] Patricia Papadopolous Telephone Information Service Volunteer 1986