The Toowoomba Regional Council have been humbled and grateful for the support and service of Council-affiliated volunteers over the years and particularly during the pandemic. A thank you function was held at the Clifford Park Racecourse on the 20th of May to recognise the amazing contribution of our Region’s volunteers in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Recognise, Reconnect and Reimagine is the theme of National Volunteer’s Week 2021and Mayor Paul Antonio said that the function was created to mirror this theme. The past year emphasized just how irreplaceable and invaluable volunteers are for each of our services and facilities.
Experiencing the impact volunteers first-hand, Melissa is utterly astounded and humbled by the amount of support and love that our community has for one another. She is continually impressed and surprised by the level of dedication and the generosity of our region’s people. One of the great joys of her job is volunteering alongside these people to help better and support our community.
These tasks were made even more challenging with the need for social distancing and COVID-19 safety measures meant our friendly volunteers were unable to provide their normal, amiable assistance. However, that being said, the persistence and dedication despite these challenges was astounding.
TRC Environment and Community Services Committee chair Cr James O’Shea said Council was indebted to the tireless work of volunteers across the organisation’s activities.
“Volunteers complement and enhance our service delivery in art galleries, museums, libraries, and cultural centres across the region,” Cr O’Shea said.
Around 550 volunteers help provide services at our Region’s art galleries, visitor information centres, libraries are more specifically the Pittsworth Pioneer Historical Village and Museum, the Drayton and Toowoomba Cemetery, the Crows Nest Nursery, Franke Scrub, the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers and other civic events. This is in addition to the many partnerships the TRC has with other volunteer groups as well.
According to research commissioned by Volunteering Australia, approximately 6 million volunteers dedicated more than 600 million hours annually nationwide.