The NSW Volunteer of the Year Awards are now in their 20th year and celebrate the work of thousands of individuals and volunteer teams from a diverse range of organisations across the state.
Congratulations to the 2026 Award winners for the Outer Western Sydney Volunteer of the Year Awards.
2026 Outer Western Sydney Volunteer of the Year
Share the Dignity volunteer manager Kerrie Barton has been named the 2026 Outer Western Sydney Volunteer of the Year, for her relentless drive to recruit, train and mentor more than 200 volunteers to help end period poverty across NSW.
The category winners for the regional awards are:
2026 Outer Western Sydney Young Volunteer of the Year
Jacob Gormley
Jacob is the President of Nepean Region Rotaract – the youth arm of Rotary International. He also gives his time as a Justice of the Peace, an event organiser for the Australia Latin American Emerging Leaders Dialogue and as an advocate for young people in Penrith.
He has led community initiatives like Clean Up Australia Day, blood drives, and is a founding member of the Penrith City Council Youth Committee.
2026 Outer Western Sydney Adult Volunteer of the Year
Kerrie Barton
Kerrie is the guru volunteer recruiter and manager for the NSW Chapter of Share the Dignity, an organisation dedicated to ensuring no one is without access to menstruation products, particularly those who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness, domestic violence or poverty.
She leads volunteer engagement and onboarding as part of the organisation’s three major collection and fundraising drives each year. She has helped recruit and retain 200 volunteers and supports a total of 1,000 volunteers throughout the state.
2026 Outer Western Sydney Senior Volunteer of the Year
Linda Rushworth
Linda has given more than 5,000 hours of her time over the past seven years to help people throughout the state experiencing food insecurity.
She volunteers at Foodbank NSW & ACT’s major distribution warehouse at Glendenning three days per week, where she helps oversee the sorting, packing and distribution of rescued food so it can be sent across the region.
2026 Outer Western Sydney Volunteer Team of the Year
Foodbank NSW & ACT Community Volunteers
The 380 strong team of Foodbank volunteers have contributed over 4,500 days of work to provide more than 20 million meals to people and families throughout the region and the state.
They give their time to help people experiencing food insecurity due to cost-of-living pressures and social issues, at the same time helping them to combat mental health issues and social stigmas.
2026 NSW Volunteer of the Year Award Sponsors
