Liberal Government recognises our wonderful volunteers on Volunteer Day

The 2019 Volunteers Thank You Event has been held today at the Adelaide Town Hall to acknowledge our selfless volunteers across South Australia.

The event at the Adelaide Town Hall is held on Volunteers Day, recognised on the Queen’s Birthday public holiday.

The event is a celebration of the achievements of volunteers and their outstanding service to the community. More than 1,000 people attended the event where awards were handed out in threecategories: individual, community projects and businesses. 

The individual Joy Noble Medal award went to Ms Jill Chapman, who was nominated for her role as founder and chairperson of Minimisation of Suicide Harm (MOSH) Australia in 2008.

Ms Chapman has lived experience in suicide through the death of her son in 2001. MOSH is a notfor-profit, volunteer-run organisation, where people whose lives have been touched by suicide, who are feeling lonely or disconnected can be with others in a supportive environment.

‘The Andamooka’ Community Project Award was presented to the Sturt Upper Reaches Landcare Group for outstanding contribution to the local bio-diversity conservation and ecological education.

The Premier’s Award for Corporate Social Responsibility was given to Win Television Mount Gambier. The organisation has donated more than $400,000 in airtime to local community organisations and sporting clubs for community promotions, as well have raised a total of $415,000 through fundraising activities to benefit a large cross section of the community.

Minister for Human Services Michelle Lensink congratulated all the winners and took the opportunity to say thank you to volunteers across South Australia.

“I’d like to take the opportunity to say a big thank you to all our wonderful volunteers who provide much needed care and support to our community,” said Minister Lensink.

“Volunteers play a vital role in our regions and right across South Australia, contributing significantly to the vibrancy of our state."

“We should be proud that our state has one of the highest volunteering rates in Australia, with more than 900,000 South Australians volunteering their time and skills to help others each year. This contributes an estimated 1.73 million volunteer hours per week.”