Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last month, I had the great pleasure of recognising some of Newcastle's most dedicated volunteers at the 2015 Newcastle Volunteer Service Awards. These awards are a terrific way for the Newcastle community to stop and take time to properly recognise the enormous contribution that volunteers make to our community. Volunteers are often the first to downplay the significance of their work, even though they play such an important role in so many of our organisations.

Award winners came from a wide range of groups, including the Hunter Region Botanic Gardens, Alzheimer's Australia's Hunter division, the Grainery Care Centre and the 2322 Men's Shed, just to name a few. Hunter Surf Life Saving nominated 10 members from their dedicated teams from Cooks Hill, Merewether, Nobbys, Dixon Park, Stockton and Newcastle surf lifesaving clubs for an award.

The ceremony allowed me to thank our local surf lifesavers on behalf on the Newcastle community for keeping our beautiful beaches safe. Sandra Calland and Brent Withey were also recognised for their commitment to the community kitchen in Merewether. The Hunter Community Legal Centre nominated their legal volunteer team for the much needed free legal advice assistance that they provide to those most in need.

Thank you to all the volunteers in our community for your tireless efforts and also big thank you to those organisations and individuals who took the time to nominate these volunteers for their extraordinarily selfless service in our community.