This week marks Nationals Volunteer Week, a chance to say thank you to the hard-working people who willingly give their time to assist our community.
Member for Shepparton, Kim O’Keeffe, said the contribution of volunteers is priceless.
“The Goulburn Valley would be a very different place today without the tireless work of volunteers across our community groups,” Ms O’Keeffe said.
“The work of emergency response organisations to local community houses that help people across vital services in our community all runs on the power of volunteers.
“We saw this firsthand as communities across the region were inundated during the October floods.
“The response from every community – which is still continuing today – was a bittersweet moment, as people who had lost everything continued to work to protect what was left in their community.
“But we also must remember the people who give their time every day or week, such as coaching and fundraising for local sporting and interest groups, our volunteers truly are the heart and soul of the Goulburn Valley.”
“An example of our truly amazing volunteers is Val Barrass. On Saturday, Val marked 80 years of volunteering with the Shepparton Netball Association. I congratulate and pay honour to Val’s dedication and love for volunteering her time to our community as this is a remarkable achievement,” Ms O’Keeffe added.
Ms O’Keeffe said National Volunteers Week is a time to say thank you and publicly recognise volunteers who too often fly under the radar.
“The State of Volunteering tells us in 2019 our hardworking volunteers contributed an incredible $58.1 billion worth of benefits across Victoria,” Ms O’Keeffe said.
“Volunteers most often perform tasks at their own expense – in 2019 it was reported collectively they spent $3.9 billion supporting their own volunteering endeavours.
“During National Volunteers Week 2023, I thank our volunteers and recognise the work they do that enriches our community and encourage anyone who may be thinking about volunteering to get involved.”
