Sydney City East 2014 Volunteer of the Year Awards

Overall Winner – 2014 Volunteer of the Year  Sydney city and eastern suburbs

Karen Lindley of Arcadia Bravehearts Inc. – Sydney CBD

Karen is a trusted and professional mentor and ally, supporting survivors of child sexual assault through Bravehearts since 1997. Currently an advocate and case manager, Karen’s 24/7 support for survivors of sexual abuse is outstanding, and she has helped more than 50 survivors cope with the trauma and turn their lives around. No other non-government organisations offer support for historical cases of child sexual assault, so Karen developed policies, protocols and guidelines to ensure Bravehearts NSW was offering high level service while empowering survivors to have a voice and seek justice. Her support includes arranging financial matters, accommodation, legal representation, liaising to secure disability pensions, support at court hearings and arranging access to counselling to help survivors get their lives back on track. Karen has donated countless hours of her time to help people overcome some serious obstacles and become empowered, positive contributors to society.
To see Pro Bono news coverage

2014 Student Volunteer of the Year

Winner: Christopher Evans of Potts Point Community Mates

Chris founded Community Mates in 2012, to remove any barriers that could deter people interested in volunteering or supporting a non-profit organization. His mission is to join people, businesses and charities and to make volunteering easy. Community Mates provides Not-for-Profit organisations with volunteers or support on an ad-hoc or ongoing basis. These organisations range from medical research charities, to support for the underprivileged and environmental organisations. Chris is very involved in motivating and engaging Community Mates’ global leaders and local community partners. He is most respected among his peers for his mentoring and coaching ‘Chapter Presidents’ (region leaders) and supporting advisors of Community Mates.

2014 Youth Volunteer of the Year

Winner: Angelica Casado of Girraween Australian Thai Youth Ambassadors Program – Sydney CBD

Angelica is the director the Australian Thai Youth Ambassadors Program (ATYAP) which is sponsored by the Royal Thai Consulate General of Sydney and funded by the Australia- Thailand Institute (DFAT). It is a program she established since 2012, and she runs the entire program. This includes organising the website, finding volunteers, liaising with UTS to receive funding for participants and the execution of the four programs in Thailand. Angelica manages the finance, the sponsorship and the training sessions for program participants. Angelica has also actively brought a taste of Thailand to UTS through her cultural events including Songkran, Thai Food and Culture and Loy Kratong Festivals and often hold fundrasing events for the benefit of the community.

2014 Adult Volunteer of the Year

Winner: Karen Lindley of Arcadia Bravehearts Inc. in the Sydney CBD

Please see Overall Winner for description

2014 Senior Volunteer of the Year

Winner: Fay Skuthorpe of Marrickville Friends of Sydney Hospital (FOSH).

Fay has volunteered at Sydney Eye Hospital for 28 years, and has been the coordinator for Friends of Sydney Hospital (FOSH) for the last 14 years and Treasurer for the last 12 years. Fay has many responsibilities within her roles and has been a key to the fundraiser, allowing the hospital to buy new equipment and to undertake further research. Fay really cares about the experience people have at the hospital and inspires other members and hospital staff to care about the patients the way she does. She continues to achieve an outstanding level of work with FOSH despite some serious health issues for which she has been having on-going treatment. However, she has still managed to attend to the needs of FOSH and continue to carry out her role.

2014 Volunteer Team of the Year

Winner: Herbarium Specimen Mounting Team, Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney Represented by Susan Jalaluddin on behalf of 38 volunteers

The Volunteer Specimen Mounting Program comprises a core group of 38 volunteers who attend weekly or fortnightly. Situated in Sydney’s Royal Botanic Gardens, the National Herbarium of NSW houses over 1.2 million pressed plant specimens, with the oldest dating back to collections made by Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander in 1770, on Captain Cook’s Voyage of The Endeavour. Today, the collection continues to grow, with specimens added each year. The Specimen Mounting Program volunteers are integral to the on-going process of curating and conserving this collection.

This year, the volunteer Mounting Program celebrated its 25th Anniversary and a number of the original members still attend as volunteers today. The volunteers demonstrate a high level of care and skill when dealing with the specimens. The volunteers are also very patient. Their work can be slow and monotonous; occasionally they are required to mount numerous boxes of the same plant species. Not always pretty, the specimens can be prickly, crumbly, dirty or smelly. The volunteers approach their work with good humour and enthusiasm and are helping to preserve various plant specimens for future generations to enjoy.

Honour Roll of Nominees

2014 Student Volunteer of the Year

• Laura Tyne of Surry Hills who volunteers with The Salvation Army.

2014 Adult Volunteer of the Year

• Leonie Hannaford of Randwick who volunteers with Starlight Children?s Foundation.
• Jacqueline Little of Sydney who volunteers with Down Syndrome NSW.
• Gary Scholes of Holgate who volunteers with Primary Ethics, Central Coast Rugby, Volunteers Narrara.
• Ilana Cohen of Bondi Junction who volunteers with Bnai Brith Bargain Bazaar.
• Anneleen Dhanda of Kirrawee who volunteers with Cancer Council NSW.
• Kathryn Field of Surry Hills who volunteers with Catholic Community Services.
• Karen Fisher of Randwick who volunteers with Children?s Cancer Institute.
• Alan Froude of Potts Point who volunteers with OzHarvest.
• Francis Hickey of Sydney who volunteers with South Eastern JRLFC.
• Leanne Hillman of Sydney who volunteers with Victims and Witnesses of Crime Court Support.
• Geoff Holman of Sydney who volunteers with OzHarvest.
• Ji-Beom Jang of Epping who volunteers with Redfern Legal Centre.
• Jacqueline Little of Allawah who volunteers with Down Syndrome NSW.
• Shane Lloyd of The Rocks who volunteers with Starlight Children’s Foundation.
• Cassandra Michie of Sydney who volunteers with The Wayside Chapel.
• Mandi O’Sullivan-Jones of Waverley who volunteers with (Running for Premature Babies Royal Hospital for Women Foundation as well as multiple other organisations.
• Ann (known as Annie) Segaert of Coogee who volunteers with St Nics Play School.
• Nathan Taylor of Alexandria who volunteers with Australian Red Cross Young Parents Program.

2014 Senior Volunteer of the Year

• Marie Byrne of North Parramatta who volunteers with Combined Pensioners & Superannuants Association of NSW Inc. (CPSA).
• Margaret Carr of Waverley who volunteers with the Children’s Hospital, Randwick.
• Barry Gobbe of Baulkham Hills who volunteers with Western Sydney Homeless Connect.
• Sandra Mathias of Matraville who volunteers with Eastern Respite and Recreation (ERR).
• Rosa Deane of Chatswood who volunteers with National Trust – SH Ervin Gallery.
• Vicki Israel of Chatswood who volunteers with B’nai B’rith Courage to Care (NSW) Inc.
• Margery Keys of Cremorne who volunteers with National Trust – SH Ervin Gallery.
• Paul Moore of Loftus who volunteers with Alzheimer’s Australia NSW, Southern Sydney Office.
• Wolf Pollak of Bondi who volunteers with Jewish Centre on Ageing (COA).
• Tony Vecellio of Kingsford who volunteers with Randwick Botany Little Athletics Centre.

2014 Volunteer Team of the Year

• The fifty one volunteers who make up the Transcribers of WW1 Diaries team
• Ricardo Aponte and the three volunteers who make up the Toy Library team.
• Kira Brandt and the sixty five volunteers who make up The Big Brother, Big Sister and Youth Mentoring Program team.
• Michael Buggy and the 130 volunteers who make up the Ankali team.
• Joseph Fleming and the 32 volunteers who make up The Tutors and Leaders team.
• Margaret Gutman and the eight volunteers who make up the Public Program Committee team.
• Leah Lasarus and the six volunteers who make up the NSW Friendship Circle team.
• Savoy Martenstyn and the twenty volunteers who make up the Volunteer Family Connect team.
• Rachel McLean and volunteers who make up the St Vincent’s College School Volunteers team.
• Patrick Murray and the thirty five volunteers who make up the Volunteer Coordination Unit team.
• The twenty eight volunteers who make up the Volunteer Referral Service team.
• Lorna Paviour and the six volunteers who make up the Bridge to Volunteering team.
• Heesun Chung and the five volunteers who make up the Reception and Administration team.