Three cheers for South Western Sydney / Macarthur Volunteers
September 8th, 2020
Volunteers from Campbelltown to Picton and Macquarie Fields to Narellan came together today for a virtual celebration of regional volunteering for the 2020 NSW Volunteer of the Year Awards. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to say thank you and cheer on the volunteering excellence across the Macarthur region.
Special congratulations to our award winners; Jeremiah Strickland who is always there to help people in his Macquarie Fields community, Buxton RFS volunteer Kim Hill who has rallied behind her bush fire impacted community, senior sewing legend Mary Carey from the South Western Sydney Local Health District Palliative Care Volunteers and the multi-tasking volunteers from the Myrtle Cottage COVID Support Team.
The 2020 NSW Volunteer of the Year for Sydney’s South West and Macarthur region is Buxton Rural Fire Service volunteer Kim Hill.
2020 NSW Volunteer of the Year Award recipients for the region are:
Young Volunteer of the Year – Jeremiah Strickland from Macquarie Fields
Jeremiah has been volunteering as a Youth Ambassador from the NSW Pacific Council for Communities since he was 12 years-old. He also gives his time supporting people in need on night patrols with the Salvation Army’s We Are Community Inc, South West Multicultural and Community Care’s Pack the Pantry program as well as volunteering with Headspace.
Adult Volunteer of the Year – Kim Hill from Buxton
Kim has been a volunteer with the Buxton RFS for the past six years, fighting fires but also helping the community during floods, storms and other incidents. Over the past 12 months, she has worked tirelessly to co-establish, with Kerrie O’Grady, the Balmoral Village Recovery Hub, supporting community members impacted by last summer’s devastating bushfires.
Kim Hill from Buxton Rural Fire Service.
Senior Volunteer of the Year – Mary Carey from Bradbury
Mary has been volunteering with the South Western Sydney Local Health District Palliative Care Volunteers for the past 20 years. She has sewed hundreds of protective and stylish syringe driver bags for patients as well as providing other vital personal support.
Volunteer Team of the Year – The Myrtle Cottage COVID Support Team
The 20 multi-tasking team members form Myrtle Cottage include bus drivers, kitchen helpers, bus and program assistance who support people with dementia and disabilities and the frail or aged. They quickly shifted their support during COVID-19 restriction to include rigorous disinfection tasks and packed and delivered parcels of food, essential items and activity packs. They also provided personal welfare checks and assistance to help maintain services.
Regional finalists for the awards are announced at 25 ceremonies throughout NSW and are invited to the Gala State Ceremony for the announcement of the 2020 NSW Volunteer of the Year.
The 2020 NSW Volunteer of the Year Awards are supported by principal partners the NSW Department of Communities and Justice and ClubsNSW, which represents the state’s 1,400 not-for-profit clubs.
