Volunteers from NSW Mid North Coast off to 2020 NSW Volunteer of the Year Awards final

About 100 special guests, volunteers and community leaders came together on Friday, August 21 for the first ever virtual ceremony to recognise and celebrate the region's volunteers.

Regional finalists for the awards are announced at 25 ceremonies throughout NSW and are invited to the gala State ceremony for the announcement of the 2020 NSW Volunteer of the Year.

The 2020 NSW Volunteer of the Year for the Mid North Coast Region is Riding for the Disabled volunteer and club president Elizabeth Wallace of Lakewood.

Le Tour de Taree volunteers from Club Taree were named Volunteer Team of the Year.

The 45 members of the Le Tour de Taree team are relentless fundraisers for Ronald McDonald House Charities Northern NSW after learning that about a dozen local families were accessing its services each week. The volunteer members ride a collective 10,000km each year, raising more than $40,000 in the process. This year the group was forced to delay its ride due to COVID restrictions, however it is now scheduled to kick off next week - to coincide with its famous French namesake.

Ken Cameron was named the adult volunteers of the year.

Ken has been volunteering with the Marlee Rural Fire Service for the past 40 years. Ken's great uncle helped establish Marlee Hall almost 100 year ago and he been a driving force behind the Marlee Hall Progress Association for many years. He has also volunteered with Wingham High School P and C, Marlee Landscape group and Marlee Tennis Club.

Other Mid North Coast award recipients are:

Ashley is the creator of the Butterflies for Mental Health Month project which allows members of the public to create origami butterflies to be displayed at community locations throughout the Port Macquarie region. The project is supported by Lifeline Mid North Coast and encourages people to talk about mental health. Ashley also supports Lifeline Mid North Coast at events for people who have lost family members or friends to suicide.

Elizabeth has held multiple roles with the Kendall Riding for the Disabled group for the past 14 years. She is now the club president as well as the riders' coordinator and is spending countless hours working to find the club a permanent new home.

The NSW Volunteer of the Year Awards are an annual program run by The Centre for Volunteering which has grown to become one of the largest celebrations of volunteering across the country.

The 2020 NSW Volunteer of the Year Awards are supported by principal partners the NSW Department of Communities and Justice and ClubsNSW, which represents the State's 1400 not-for-profit clubs.

"Volunteers from across every region of NSW have continued to give their time, energy and compassion in the face of enormous adversity over the past 12 months," The Centre for Volunteering CEO Gemma Rygate said.

"This is what the Australian spirit is all about. Helping others. Helping your community and never giving up. I couldn't be more proud of the region's volunteers and their incredible resilience and spirit. We are just so glad that technology allowed us to still come together to say thank you."

NSW Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Services Gareth Ward said volunteers are the essence and flavour of our regional communities. "They're the people raising money for vital causes, they're there for us in terms of emergency and they're the friend on the end of a phone breaking the cycle of isolation. We can't put a price on volunteers. These regional awards ceremonies are an opportunity to thank all our volunteers and to recognise the best and brightest."

"Volunteers are the backbone of registered clubs across the State, so it was a natural fit for the industry to support such an important program," ClubsNSW CEO Josh Landis said. "Congratulations to all the volunteers who were recognised at today's ceremony for their dedication and commitment. Volunteers from across NSW have continued to give of their time and effort to help others, while facing so much adversity from bushfires, drought and the impacts of COVID-19. I'm proud to represent an industry where 32,000 volunteers help to make clubs such great places."

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