Meet the Volunteer: Kay Dermatis

I am Australian, educated in Sydney and started volunteering as a teenager. My professional experience is in sales, marketing, public relations and consulting for various multinational companies in the Asia Pacific region, Ireland and Australia/New Zealand. In 2019, my husband was offered a position in Toronto Canada. I relocated with him and decided to retire from corporate life and utilize my experience to volunteer on a full-time basis. We relocated to Zurich in 2023. 

What personal experiences drew you to charity work?

My parents were immigrants, so we spent a lot of time with family, neighbours and close friends helping each other on a daily basis. We shared produce grown in our gardens, walked younger kids to school, babysat, translated for the elderly, helped with shopping and medical appointments. Our lives revolved around the local parish church and needs of the community. My mother was an amazing role model, involved in various community programs. I started volunteering with her and continued to volunteer throughout my career.

How did you get involved with Zharity?

While I was starting to learn German and getting oriented in Zurich, I found Zharity through the City of Zürich’s website. I signed up for the monthly newsletter and attended an online coffee event, where I learned more about the organization and their community programs. The first event I signed up for was a material cutting event for the pad project and I continued to support various programs after that.

What projects are you currently working on?

I wear many hats within Zharity. I was recently appointed as Zharity’s Interim Secretary. Earlier this year I became involved in the fundraising team as a Raffle Co-Coordinator. This included seeking prizes from local businesses, organizing the marketing with the social media team and handling logistics. I was so thrilled that the raffle raised CHF 8,910 to fund important programs to provide aid and essential items to those most in need! Over the summer I am supporting our corporate engagement events such as clean-ups around lake Zurich and clothing collections for distribution to our community partners. 

Join Kay and the Zharity team by signing up to volunteer with us!