Volunteering

...There are now 18 volunteers contributing to the work of running the Op Shop, each person has unique skills and creative talents to contribute ... Overseas donations have been sent to Indonesia, supporting a child who has been able to attend school and receive helpful items, and to Ukraine and Niger with boxes of jumpers, beanies, scarves, bandages.

Hike to Heal Australia Inc., which organises the annual Hike to Heal Scavenger Hike at Mount Peel, has announced its attention to wind up its operations ... "This decision comes as a result of challenges in finding volunteers and committee members to continue managing the charity on a permanent basis," Mrs Barton said ... A highlight for Hike to Heal was being named as the recipient of the prestigious Jude Bugeja - Peer Experience Award at the Queensland Mental Health Achievement Awards in 2023.

Soon after Chris Olive’s son Ben was born, a man asked him to join the SES. That was in 1984. Forty years later and Chris is recognised for his long service at Kyogle SES Unit at a presentation in Lismore on November 1. 

This year, for the first time, Assistance Dogs Australia pups will be featuring in the Grafton Jacaranda Festival Parade on Saturday 1 November, resplendent in purple crowns and accompanied by the ADA team, their community carers and Serco staff. 

West Wimmera Shire Council has named Serviceton's Les Millikin as the 2025 Senior Citizen of the Year ... Since moving to Serviceton in 2002, Mr Millikin has made an enormous contribution to the local community through his volunteer work at the historic Serviceton Railway Station.

Helen Hobbs. While many locals already know how much time and care Les Millikin puts into maintaining the Serviceton Railway Station, it's clear that visitors from across Australia — and even overseas — have noticed too. Online reviews tell a story of a man whose quiet dedication has left a lasting impression on hundreds of travellers who've stopped in at the historic station.

Michelle Daw. Thousands of people began pouring through the gates at the Yorke Peninsula Field Days site near Paskeville ... not only one of the region's largest events but also Australia's oldest field days, dating back to trials held near Bute in 1895. This year's event is expected to inject between $5 million and $8 million into the local economy ...

On September 9, Mancel Gray Giddings, OAM, was presented with his Order of Australia Medal at a ceremony at Government House, officiated by Her Excellency Professor the Honourable Margaret Gardner AC, Governor of Victoria. It was a truly special occasion, and Mancel was delighted to once again put his beloved Wycheproof on the map!

The scent of blooms and blossoms — coupled with longer, warmer, sunnier days — signals the start of spring and for many, a change in mood ... And while Health Direct, an Australian government-funded source of health advice, reckons that Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is rare in this country, there might also be a sense that wintry depression is starting to drift away.

A 30-strong platoon of volunteers recently completed a significant planting project at Playles Hill Park in Corryong. In seven days, the industrious group amassed more than 280 hours of work ... One hundred locally extinct and critically endangered Banksia canei have also been included in the plantings.

As local government rates notices hit letterboxes across the state, farmers are highlighting the madness of the Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund Tax (ESVF) now hitting the pockets of Victorian homeowners. Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) President Brett Hosking said the mounting outrage is adding more weight to calls to scrap massive increases in the tax. 

Patricia Gill. Sarabande Early Music Ensemble explored the Baroque period of Italy in a rousing concert at a sun-bathed St Leonard's Anglican Church on Saturday afternoon.

Copper Coast Show chair Natasha Westbrook says the 2025 event was one of the most vibrant and community-driven the committee has seen in years, with record crowds, incredible participation, and all run by volunteers. The show was held over the weekend, August 16 and 17, and the Schools Livestock Day on Friday, August 15, had seven schools and 135 students participating with cattle, goats and sheep.

NSW Ambulance is considering establishing a groundbreaking Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) pilot program in Hay, marking the first time such an initiative would operate in a NSW town that already has an existing ambulance centre.

Hugh Schuitemaker. The chairman of Renmark's Olivewood museum says she is "fed up" with a lack of support and consultation from National Trust SA ... "It's almost as if they are trying to bleed the branches dry." Ann Ryan said volunteers had been directly responsible for raising money to purchase, and maintaining, many of Olivewood's major exhibits.

Yorke Peninsula National Trust of South Australia branches are refusing to pay a new fee which would take 10 per cent of their gross annual revenue, warning the move could force museums to close. Of the several YP branches protesting, the Moonta branch — one of the NTSA's largest — is facing a $47,365 fee, which chair Graham Hancock has called unfair.

Serena Kirby. Sue Bussell became Denmark Surf Life Saving Club's oldest person to achieve a bronze medallion when she completed her course this year.

Serena Kirby. It was eyes down and tweezers poised at a recent seed sorting session. The Wilson Inlet Catchment Committee-organised activity was part of the committee's Cockies for Cockies program that's working to re-establish and protect habitats and food sources for three threatened black cockatoo species: Carnaby's, Baudin and red-tailed black cockatoos.

A community-based project to re-establish a critically endangered plant in the Burrowa Pine Mountain National Park (BPMNP) is gaining momentum in the Upper Murray. Mountain Banksia (B. canei) became locally extinct in the park following the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires.

... this month’s topic is Amazing People ... The book fair itself is nestled between the CWA pop-up shop and Lowana, two long-established organisations run entirely by volunteers ... There are also people who make a career of volunteering and I recently met one such remarkable bloke. In his words he was heading out bush to earn a few dollars to support his real work – delivering books to people in the bush.

Families in Barham now have greater access to quality care for their school-aged children, with the launch of a new Out of School Hours (OOSH) service at Barham Public School. Driven by strong community feedback about the lack of childcare options in the region, the service has been established by Intereach in partnership with Barham Public School and its Parents & Citizens Association.