Ms Thornton began volunteering at St Vincent de Paul Dubbo two decades ago after she was inspired by her husband.

During National Volunteer Week, May 17 to May 23, Ms Thornton is speaking out about her experience in a bid to reiterate the importance of volunteer work.

"I wanted to make a difference," she said.

"We can't change the world, but as Mother Teresa said, we can't all do great things but we can all do little things with love."

Ms Thornton said volunteering for a charity that helped people the most in need was very rewarding.

"In fact, I would say it's addictive. There's so much to do and so many people needing help," she said.

"Almost on a daily basis somebody comes in and you can help them in some way and you just think, 'it's a day well spent'."

If there is one lesson Ms Thornton has taken from her years as a volunteer it would be to not judge someone before knowing their story.

"It has taught me to be non-judgemental and to not form opinions of people hastily," she said.

"You might see someone or be speaking to someone and subconsciously form an opinion, but then when you get to know these people and when you hear their story, you realise that they are no different to you, we are all just people and some of them have had it pretty tough.

"Homelessness, for example, people often presume someone's homeless because they're on drugs, but a lot of it is mental health.

"I also did Lifeline for a number of years and that was very eye-opening to me."

Ms Thornton said she believes volunteers were really special people.

"We get a lot come in because they feel blessed in life and want to give back," she said.

Ms Thornton said helping people was second nature to her.

"It's a natural human thing to want to help someone. If you see someone in need you naturally go to help them," she said.

Ms Thornton said through volunteering she had also formed some great friendships.

St Vincent de Paul Dubbo is encouraging more volunteers to sign up as the numbers of people in need continues to rise.

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