Joanne Pollard was named WA volunteer of the year and Woodside Petroleum was recognised for its volunteer programs at an awards ceremony last night.
Joanne Pollard was named WA volunteer of the year and Woodside Petroleum was recognised for its volunteer programs at an awards ceremony last night.
The honours were presented at Volunteering WA's annual WA Volunteer of the Year Awards at Crown in celebration of National Volunteer Week.
Ms Pollard, who has volunteered at Radio Lollipop, Timor Leste Vision, Homeless Connect Perth and Spirit of the Streets Choir, was awarded the top prize.
She has served in many roles over the past three decades including program coordinator, treasurer, secretary, fundraiser, and advocate.
Woodside Petroleum was recognised for its commitment to its corporate volunteer program.
It was one of the first Australian organisations to provide paid volunteering leave, is a founding member and chair of the Corporate Volunteer Council and a corporate representative on the Minsiter’s Volunteering Community Reference group.
In 2019, nearly 2,000 employees volunteered for more than 11,000 hours.
Not for profit Teach Learn Grow, which aims to bridge the education gap for students experiencing disadvantage in rural and remote communities, was named community volunteer organisation of the year.
The organisation is mainly volunteer run, with two full-time staff, three part-time staff and more than 60 volunteers.
Volunteers undertake internship programs and support the organisation in areas including marketing, recruitment, finance, university engagement and education.
Other award winners included Tristan Kolay (volunteer for multicultural communities), Sandra Lymbery (lifetime contribution to volunteering), Riley Dolman (WA youth volunteer of the year) and Maurice Becker (spirit of volunteering award).
Volunteering WA chief executive Tina Williams said it was awe-inspiring to hear the stories, impact and dedication of each of the finalists.
“Each day, I am humbled by the opportunity to meet extraordinary individuals and teams within our volunteering sector who give so much to make Western Australia a better place for all - and our incredible recipients are certainly no exception.
Data released this week from the Australian Charities and Not for Profit Commission found more than half of Australia’s registered charities were run entirely by volunteers.
Analysis of Australia’s registered charities showed 51 per cent operated without any paid staff in the 2019 reporting year.
In WA, there were 218,033 charity volunteers in the 2019 financial year, compared with 124,923 charity employees.
