Today, Jonathan O'Dea MP, Liberal for Davidson, encouraged local not-for-profit organisations to nominate their most dedicated workers for the inaugural NSW Volunteer of the Year Award.
“This is a wonderful initiative to honour the contribution the 1.4 million volunteers make to NSW”, said Jonathan O’Dea.
The Volunteer of the Year Awards were launched on behalf of the Centre for Volunteering by the NSW Minister for Volunteering, who is Patron of the awards.
The awards are being promoted and conducted on a regional basis throughout the State. Regional awards ceremonies will take place during October, regional winners will take part in State judging. An awards ceremony to honour all winners will be held on December 5 – International Volunteer Day.
Volunteers in Australia are estimated to contribute about $12.5 billion a year through their unpaid efforts. In NSW the figure is more than $3 billion a year.
Volunteer work ranges from aged care, education and child welfare and counselling, through to emergency callout, event control, running sporting clubs, environmental care and animal protection.
“There’s hardly an area of life that is not helped by volunteering. Every effort will be made to ensure the NSW Volunteer of the Year Award recognises that invaluable unpaid effort”, said Jonathan O’Dea.
The awards organiser, the Centre for Volunteering, is the peak body for more than 330,000 not-for-profit organisations in NSW.
For further information please call the Davidson Electorate office on 02 9880 7400.
Jonathan O'Dea MP
Member for Davidson
