Recognising the efforts of volunteers helps demonstrate the importance of their contribution and can also encourage other members of the community to consider volunteering.

To recognise outstanding efforts, Eastern Volunteers awarded two of its volunteers an Outstanding Volunteer Award.

The Award was provided in recognition of their contribution to several events ran by Eastern Volunteers, including the Multicultural Spring Festival, the Regional Conference, the Annual Fun Run and Giant Garage Sale.

The award received by the two volunteers was recognised by the Maroondah Leader which featured the two volunteers and their contribution:

Eastern Volunteers marketing services manager Alex Makin said Ms Barbian and Mr Franscisco were given the awards for their passion.

“The leadership and dedication of Patrick and Elke is inspirational and demonstrates how volunteers can make a real difference in our community,” he said. “The Multicultural Spring Festival was Maroondah’s first large-scale multicultural festival, which attracted over 5000 people. Patrick and Elke were crucial in planning this event and ensuring that it was a community success.”

International Volunteers Day was held on the 5th of December and provided an opportunity to formally recognise and congratulate Patrick and Elke for their dedication towards Eastern Volunteers.