Page 429 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 18 February 2020
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community events. Over the course of the three days, we will see thousands of community volunteers taking on the role of stall holders, performers and showcase coordinators. Events like this run largely on the goodwill and dedication of our community volunteers who give their time and their skills to showcase and share their culture and heritage with us.
Today’s matter of public importance is critical in ensuring that members understand that volunteering is integral to community connectedness. I stand here today to thank and recognise all the people in our community who selflessly work to support our region. Volunteering enables people with all skills and abilities to actively participate in their community. Our volunteers are supporting Canberra to be a fun, vibrant and inclusive city. Volunteers support advocacy and deliver vital services for people and environments in need.
I also recognise the work of our peak body, VolunteeringACT. VolunteeringACT are the enabler of many volunteering services in the ACT. Without their work, many volunteering services would not happen, and I thank them for their continued service to the ACT.
As I draw to a close, I want to take a moment to recognise the 2019 Volunteer of the Year for the Canberra region, Nikki Bensch. Nikki was awarded the 2019 Volunteer of the Year award for her work with Share the Dignity in the ACT. Share the Dignity supports women and girls in need in the ACT and across the nation, providing them with essential sanitary items and other care. Share the Dignity supports women in the ACT that may be experiencing homelessness, fleeing domestic violence or otherwise suffering financial hardship. Over the past four years Nikki has coordinated three campaign drives and events that occur annually for the charity. In 2018 Nikki and her team collected 14,995 sanitary items and 5,203 handbags for women and girls in the Canberra region who need support.
Nikki’s work is one example of the amazing work that happens every day across our city, and I take this opportunity to recognise Nikki’s contribution as well as the contribution of all those working with Nikki on this important piece of work to support women and girls in the ACT.
Volunteering brings people together. It builds more active, engaged and inclusive communities. Volunteering enriches the lives of the volunteers themselves, as well as those that benefit from their commitment to Canberra, its people and places.
I am committed to ensuring that our volunteers are recognised, acknowledged and celebrated. I stand here in honour of the value and contribution that volunteers make to our city. I recognise the diverse nature of volunteering and that we have volunteers of all ages and abilities, and I support our volunteers to provide the incredible service and contribution that they deliver for the ACT.
MRS KIKKERT (Ginninderra) (3.21): I am grateful to Mr Milligan for bringing this matter of public importance before the Assembly today. I doubt any of us really grasps how many people in Canberra are engaged in volunteering or just how much they actually do. We would only start to see the big picture if all the volunteering just
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