The NSW Volunteer of the Year Awards are now in their 19th year and celebrate the work of thousands of individuals and volunteer teams from a diverse range of organisations across the state.
Congratulations to the 2025 Award winners for the Riverina Volunteer of the Year Awards.
2025 Riverina Volunteer of the Year
The founder of the Griffith Trauma Teddies Knitter’s Group Pat Zandona has been named the 2025 Riverina Volunteer of the Year for her support to young children impacted by health and life threatening emergencies.
The category winners for the regional awards are:
2025 Riverina Young Volunteer of the Year
Ariba Omar
Kooringal High School student Ariba Omar has crammed a lifetime of volunteering into a short period of time. She volunteers as a Youth Week Ambassador for Wagga Wagga Council, and as a CWA Wagga Branch member. Ariba is also on the student representative council at her school and is a Sun-Safety Ambassador and member of the NSW Cancer Council Youth Advisory group.
2025 Riverina Adult Volunteer of the Year
Pat Zandona
Pat established the Griffith Trauma Teddies Knitter’s Group to give comfort to children experiencing distress while in hospital or while being transported by ambulance. The group has 30 members who have made 3,000 hand knitted and crocheted trauma teddies, sent by the Red Cross to local health services, neighbouring towns, interstate, and even sent overseas with aid workers to Gaza. Pat and her team also turn donated and recycled wool into knitted blankets for local aged care facilities and the Griffith Cancer Care Unit.
2025 Riverina Senior Volunteer of the Year
Chris Berry
Chris gives his time to run the Coolamon Historical Fire Museum to preserve and restore firefighting history for the local community and visitors to the town. He opens each day, and also operates the Tourist Information Centre, and runs the annual Coolamon Engine Muster to showcase vintage fire engines, police cars, ambulances, and car club vehicles.
2025 Riverina Volunteer Team of the Year
The Carevan Kitchen Team
The Carevan Kitchen volunteers turn up each day, peeling, chopping, and dicing as they create nutritious meals for people in need throughout the region. The 25 team members also help wash and clean their kitchen tools after a day’s cooking, with more than 500 meals delivered each week via Carevan Wagga’s nightly service to local community hubs.
2025 NSW Volunteer of the Year Award Sponsors
