NO SERIES about inspiring women would be complete without including the work of Valerie Rose.

Perhaps one of the most reluctant to be highlighted, Valerie insists there are others in the community who deserve more recognition.

"A lot of people volunteer; there are plenty," she said modestly.

Her involvement in the community covers a multitude of causes including Safe Haven, chaplaincy, fostering and even roaming the halls of the Warwick Hospital offering support as a pastoral carer.

"They are some of the most wonderful people I have ever worked with," she said about the pastoral care team.

Valerie is also one of the founding members the Warwick Zonta branch.

More recently Valerie has assisted in collecting wheelchairs and braces to send to an orphanage in China.

The operation is run in conjunction with friend Mary Johnston to cater to the orphanage's large intake of children suffering from a number of congenital issues.

Valerie's organisational and networking skill set have been invaluable to the groups she is involved with.

"I'm not afraid to ask people for money," she said.

"A volunteer is only as good as the organisation and the teams within it."

The tireless worker sees volunteering as a form of escape from thinking about self.

"I would say it's hard when you think of the problems you have but as soon as you start working you lose that poor-me attitude."

While the effort does take its toll from time to time on her and those she works with, Valerie doesn't see herself quitting any time soon.

"You have only got a certain amount of time and energy," she said.

The family woman counts herself lucky to be supported by her family and friends.

"John has always encouraged me to find other potentials in my life like my career in teaching," she said about her husband.

"My mother was an inspirational woman."

As a child, Valerie lost her father at the age of two.

The single parent family survived on her mother's teaching income which was 50% of the male wage - common at that time.

Seeing change take place, Valerie is optimistic about the future for women both in Australia and around the world.

"I have hope for the future. All this doom and gloom talk always creates more doom and gloom," she said.