Town celebrates volunteers

The Town’s volunteers provide a range of services to the community from delivering books to pulling weeds and planting trees to classifying historical photographs and artefacts.

Mayor Jock Barker said, “Our volunteers play a vital role in helping our community. We are very fortunate to have so many people who give their time and expertise tirelessly to the Town and the community.”

“At the Claremont Community Hub & Library, 44 volunteers have contributed 750 hours of their time helping people explore their family tree, hosting foreign language conversations sessions and teaching library patrons how to use computers, tablets and phones.

"The flora and fauna of Claremont Lake also benefits from the enormous contribution given by the Friends of Lake Claremont in planting, weeding and preserving this beautiful space for the whole community to enjoy.”

“I am extremely proud of the services and programs the Town provides to the community and I would like to acknowledge that this would not be possible without the generosity of our volunteers. Our annual event is the Town’s opportunity to recognise and thank all those who make Claremont the wonderful place it is to live.”

Claire has raised $600 000 in grants funds for the Friends of Lake Claremont (FOLC) since 2009, enabling them to purchase 340 000 native seedlings which have been crucial to the revegetation efforts at the Lake. Her time, efforts and decisions have transformed Lake Claremont into the beautiful and flourishing parkland it is today. 

After 12 years and more than 3300 hours of volunteering across a number of roles, including director, company secretary, and grants officer, Claire has recently announced her retirement from Friends of Lake Claremont.

Youth Volunteer of the Year: Reagan Manns

Regan has been described as a ‘delightful, hardworking and diligent young man’ who began volunteering when he was still a high school student and has worked tirelessly for the FOLC since 2011, and for Direct Reach Ethiopia – an NGO – since 2012.

Reagan is responsible for designing, building and creating the FOLC website. The website has helped FOLC recruit volunteers and achieve amazing results at the Lake. He also built and continues to maintain the Direct Reach Ethiopia website, saving them tens of thousands of dollars in professional fees – work that he continued right through his exhausting Chartered Accountant qualifying years

Senior Volunteer of the Year: Peter Stanley

Peter has been a member of the Claremont Yacht Club for 48 years, and a volunteer for 36 years. Peter was instrumental in the success of the junior dinghy fleet in the 1980s and 90s, providing instruction and encouragement to the junior membership.

For many years now, Peter has assumed the responsibility for maintenance of the clubhouse and marina – not only does he direct Club staff and organise and negotiate maintenance works of all scales, but he’s also hands on. His contribution amounts to tens of hours per week, every week. Peter has also generously offered his boat, on many occasions, for the Town of Claremont seniors’ river cruise, as well as for other not-for-profit organisations and club events.

Volunteer Team of the Year: Shah Satnam Ji Green ‘S’ Welfare Force Wing

This team is a large, coordinated and very proactive group made up of people of all generations who contribute enormously to our community. They’ve been volunteering with the Friends of Lake Claremont for six years, and in that time have contributed to the planting of over 70,000 seedlings.

In the last 12 months alone, the group has helped plant 8,000 seedlings over five planting sessions, and each time they’ve provided food for all volunteers – around 40 people each time.

The group preaches and practises humanitarianism and selfless service to others. They’re involved in health, education, agriculture, antidiscrimination, natural disaster rehabilitation and many other humanitarian projects and environmental projects to nurture the environment and secure the future of the planet.   Back To News Stories