NSW Volunteer of the Year
The [5] is an annual state award for volunteering in New South Wales, Australia run by The Centre for Volunteering and supported by the State Government. It was launched in June 2007 by the then NSW Minister for Volunteering Linda Burney.[1]
The NSW Volunteer of the Year Award recognises the efforts of the 2.4 million volunteers in NSW, and promotes the importance of volunteering to the community and to companies.
Prior to 2007 there was no statewide recognition program for all volunteers, and the NSW Volunteer of the Year Award program remains the sole annual awards program committed to recognising all volunteers in NSW.
Contents
Award Regions
The Award is judged at a Regional and State level with 20 NSW Regional Volunteer of the Year Awards created throughout NSW: 12 country regions and 8 Sydney regions (the Award started with 15 regions and has been expanded to 20).[2]
Sydney Regions have been based on geography and population size. The Centre has structured these regions so that there is a substantial population in each and some natural synergies between the local government areas in each region.
Country Regions are based on NSW Department of State and Regional Development’s regions.
Award Categories
The major categories of award are:
Student – Full-time students in Primary, Secondary, Vocational or Tertiary study Youth- 24 years and under Adult – 25 to 64 years Senior – 65 years + Volunteer Team Excellence in Volunteer Management (NFP) Corporate Volunteer (Individual) Corporate Volunteer Team
The winners of Student, Youth, Adult and Senior categories will be eligible for the award of Volunteer of the Year in their region and will go on to the State finals in their category. [3]
NSW Corporate Volunteer of the Year Award
This award is open to volunteers who are sponsored by their employers and are released from employment to carry out volunteer activities. Nominations for this award will relate to volunteers who carried out their volunteering as part of an employee or corporate volunteering program. This is awarded at a State level only.
NSW Corporate Volunteer Team of the Year Award
This award is open to a group of volunteers who have worked together on a particular project or program and are sponsored by their employers and are released from employment to carry out volunteer activities. Nominations for this award will relate to a volunteer team that has carried out their volunteering as part of an employee or corporate volunteering program. This is awarded at a State level only.
NSW Excellence in Volunteer Management Award
This award is open to not-for-profit organisations and volunteer managers in NSW who have demonstrated excellence in Volunteer Management. The Award aims to highlight a sometimes under-acknowledged, but vitally important aspect of volunteering. This is awarded at a State level only.
Nomination Dates
The NSW Volunteer of the Year Award opens for nomination at the start of National Volunteer Week each year and closes at the end of July. Nominations can be made online http://www.volunteering.com.au
Award Ceremonies
Regional Award Ceremonies are held throughout October–November of each year. The State Award Ceremony is held on or near the 5 December each year in recognition of International Volunteer Day, in Sydney. The Awards are presented by the Minister for Citizenship and Communities (who is also the Patron of the Award). The 2014 NSW Volunteer of the Year Award Ambassador is Paula Duncan.
Award recipients
2007
The award ceremony was held at the NSW Parliament House, Sydney, on 5 December 2007, on the occasion of the International Volunteer Day. The winners of the [6] were:
- Mary Mamour, 2007 NSW Volunteer of the Year[4]
- Laurie Smith, 2007 Senior Volunteer of the Year[4]
- Amanda Grant, 2007 Youth and Corporate Volunteer of the Year[4]
The [7] were announced at ceremonies around NSW throughout October–November 2007.
2008
The [8] were announced at a gala ceremony held at the NSW Parliament House, Sydney on 5 December 2008, on the occasion of the International Volunteer Day.[5]
- Layne Beachley, 2008 NSW Volunteer Ambassador Award winner
- Shu Fen Wang, 2008 NSW Volunteer of the Year
- Lorraine Clark, 2008 NSW Senior Volunteer of the Year
- Krystle Marsh, 2008 NSW Youth Volunteer of the Year
- Karen Carmichael, 2008 NSW Corporate Volunteer of the Year
The [9] were announced at ceremonies around NSW throughout October–November 2008.
2009
The [10] were announced by the then Minister for Volunteering, the Hon Graham West, at a ceremony held at the NSW Parliament House, Sydney on 4 December 2009.[6]
- Liz Mullinar AM was named 2009 NSW Volunteer of the Year
- Hayden Zammit, was named 2009 NSW Youth Volunteer of the Year
- Thea Batterham, was 2009 NSW Senior Volunteer of the Year
- ING Bank employee Nigel Dearinger was 2009 NSW Employee Volunteer of the Year
- Timehelp Holroyd – a group of 26 retirees from Holroyd was awarded the inaugural 2009 NSW Volunteer Team of the Year
The [11] were announced at ceremonies around NSW throughout October–November 2009.
2010
The 2010 award ceremony was held at the NSW Parliament House, Sydney, on Friday, 3 December 2010, with the [12] presented by the Minister for Volunteering, the Hon Peter Primrose and the [13] were presented by the Hon Michael Veitch, MLC.
- 2010 NSW Volunteer of the Year – Graham Symes from Wadalba
- 2010 NSW Youth Volunteer of the Year – Timothy Bayl from Epping
- 2010 NSW Senior Volunteer of the Year – Bill Phippen from Picton
- 2010 NSW Highly Commended Senior Volunteer of the Year – Christaan Cartledge from Wollongong
- 2010 NSW Team Volunteer of the Year – Warrawong Community Kitchen Lunch Volunteer Team
- 2010 NSW Highly Commended Volunteer Team of the Year – 2WAR FM Volunteer Team from Gilgandra
- 2010 NSW Employee Volunteer of the Year – Rodney Lowe from Yennora and Alcoa Rolled Products
2014
The 2014 NSW Volunteer of the Year Award ceremony was held at The Kirribilli Club on Friday, 5 December 2014. The award ceremony was hosted by Adam Spencer with The Hon. Victor Michael DOMINELLO, MP, Minister for Citizenship and Communities in attendance to present the award for the overall winner, David Abrahams.[7]
- 2014 NSW Volunteer of the Year - David Abrahams of Grafton (Overall Winner)
- 2014 NSW Student Volunteer of the Year - Christopher Evans founded Community Mates
- 2014 NSW Youth Volunteer of the Year - Emily Smith for Girl Guides
- 2014 NSW Adult Volunteer of the Year - Karen Lindley of Bravehearts
- 2014 NSW Senior Volunteer of the Year - David Abrahams of Grafton (Overall Winner)
- 2014 Excellence in Volunteer Management Award NSW - SPARK team from St Vincent de Paul Society
- 2014 NSW Corporate Individual Volunteer of the Year - Kate Boyle, National Australia Bank (MLC)
- 2014 NSW Corporate Team Volunteer of the Year - Tradies' Volunteer Team
