2009 NSW Volunteer of the Year Award

Funder: The Centre for Volunteering

Program summary

Two changes have been made to broaden the 2009 NSW Volunteer of the Year Award.

The Award recognises the 1.7 million volunteers in NSW who work tirelessly for the community.

This year, a new Team, category will be added to recognize groups of people who have formed to make a special contribution to their not-for-profit organisation.

And the category for corporate volunteers has been extended to include pro bono work by professional organisations, such as lawyers, accountants and medical personnel and the category has been renamed the 2009 NSW Employee Volunteer of the Year Award.

The Award is organised by The Centre for Volunteering, the peak body for volunteers in NSW. It will be officially launched by the NSW Minister for Volunteering and Patron of the Award, the Hon Graham West and MC'd Dr Peter Shergold AC, of the Centre for Social Impact at the University of NSW, on Monday, 11 May 2009 in conjunction with the launch of National Volunteer Week.  2008 Volunteer Ambassador of the Year, Layne Beachley, has accepted an invitation to attend the launch.

Chief Executive of The Centre, Lynne Dalton, is calling for representatives of the thousands of not-for-profit organisations throughout the State to nominate their most dedicated and productive volunteers.

"Last year we received in 450 nominations, all of them of the highest quality and showing the dedication that people of all ages have shown to the community," said Ms Dalton.

"The week to week contributions volunteers make stretch from aged care, education and child welfare and counselling, through to emergency callout, event control to supervising sports, mentoring young people, environmental care and animal protection. There's hardly an area of life which is not touched by volunteering."

The 2008 Volunteer of the Year is Shu Fen Wang of Ashfield who is actively involved in a number of efforts to assist Chinese migrants in Western Sydney become more accustomed to and involved in Australian life.

Details of how to nominate people for the Award and the judging criteria are available online:  www.volunteering.com.au

There will be 3 major categories of award:

• 2009 NSW Volunteer of the Year Award
  with special awards for Youth and Senior Volunteer of the Year
• 2009 NSW Employee Volunteer of the Year Award
• 2009 NSW Volunteer Team of the Year Award

Key dates

Who can apply?

To be eligible for nomination for the 2009 NSW Volunteer of the Year Award:

• Nominees must be Australian Citizens or Permanent Residents with residency in NSW.
• Over 15 years of age
• Nominees must have been involved in volunteering for the equivalent of at least 100 hours over a 12 month period.
• Nominees must have volunteered for a legitimate not-for-profit organisation.
• Communities in NSW must be significant beneficiaries of the nominee's voluntary work.

To be eligible for nomination for the 2009 NSW Employee Volunteer of the Year Award:

• Nominees must be Australian Citizens or Permanent Residents with residency in NSW
• Over 15 years of age
• Nominees must be sponsored by their employers and released from employment to carry out volunteer activities.
• Nominee must have volunteered for a legitimate not-for-profit organisation.
• Communities in Australia must be significant beneficiaries of the nominee's voluntary work.

To be eligible for nomination for the 2009 NSW Volunteer Team of the Year Award:

• Nominees must be 15 years of age or over and must be NSW residents (they do not have to be Australian citizens or have permanent residency status).
• Nominees must have volunteered for a legitimate not-for-profit organisation.
• Nominees may be part of an employee or corporate volunteering program. If part of such a program, they must be sponsored by their employers and released from employment to carry out volunteer activities.
• Communities in Australia must be significant beneficiaries of the team's voluntary work.

What will be funded?

The first round of judging for these awards will take place at regional level. At each regional level there will be an overall winner and, depending on numbers of entries, awards for Youth and Seniors.

The winners of the 2009 NSW Volunteer of the Year Award will be selected from the Regional winners. There will also be special awards for Youth and Seniors.

For the purposes of the Award, the State has been divided into 11 country regions and 6 Sydney regions, which can be found here at The Centre for Volunteering website.

More information

For more information, see The Centre for Volunteering's Award website

Contact

Related Categories

• Awards & scholarships