Volunteers are a major aspect of the CLRS’s fundraising efforts.
Photo by
JORDAN TOWNROW
From Monday, May 19 until Sunday, May 25, Australia marks National Volunteer Week.
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The week aims to celebrate the unsung heroes of the community who donate their time to local causes.
Community Living and Respite Services is one of many local services that thrive as a result of their volunteers.
Its most recent annual dinner event raised over $80,000, catapulting the collective fundraising total from the past 17 years well past $1 million.
CLRS chief executive Leah Taaffe said the group’s two major fundraisers were run with the help of volunteers.
Photo by
JORDAN TOWNROW
CLRS chief executive Leah Taaffe said volunteers were a crucial part of the dinner’s success.
“We have two major fundraisers, the run coming up in August and the (annual dinner),” she said.
“They run off the back of people giving their time and making the effort to get out and do all of the things that need to be done for those activities, and we couldn’t do it if we didn’t have volunteer help.
“The very first fundraising dinner took place in 2007, and we’ve had a core volunteer fundraising committee that has basically delivered all those dinners since.”
Earlier this month, the CLRS held a special morning tea to recognise the volunteers who had helped make the annual dinners what they are today.
The CLRS gathered volunteers who have had a part in the fundraising dinners since it’s inception, to give thanks.
Photo by
JORDAN TOWNROW
Among the volunteers was ANZ Echuca branch manager Sheryl Campbell.
Her volunteering journey began when she was approached by CLRS Opening Doors ambassador Dave Callahan, who was looking for volunteers.
At the time she was also looking for somewhere for her staff to use their eight volunteer hours included in their work contracts.
Mrs Campbell and her staff began taking turns volunteering at the Recyclability Op Shop for an hour every Tuesday.
From there, her involvement with the CLRS grew and eventually, she joined the fundraising committee.
Sheryl Campbell has volunteered with the CLRS for many years.
Photo by
Lua Ikenasio
Mrs Campbell said she enjoyed giving her time and giving back to the community.
“Not everyone wants to do donations, not everyone wants to do the food bank, but working for the community at the op shops or doing the fundraising is something everybody can do,” she said.
“If you can’t give money, you can usually give time ... and you’re being part of the community. I think it’s something anybody should do, even if you’re just helping out at school when kids have got cross-country.
“It keeps the community together, but it actually achieves something — you’re usually doing it for a reason.”
Kristina Kostoglou, owner of Amcal and Priceline pharmacies, has been volunteering with the CLRS since 2008.
Before moving to Echuca in 1999, Mrs Kostoglou was a personal carer in Melbourne, a job that sparked her passion for care work.
Kristina Kostoglou has a passion for care work.
Photo by
JORDAN TOWNROW
Although she was unable to work as a carer once she moved to Echuca, she missed her work as a carer and decided to volunteer with the CLRS instead.
Mrs Kostoglou said helping fundraise for the ‘Opening Doors’ project had been fulfilling.
“The one thing that has always stayed with me was listening to a mum say to me ‘what will happen to my kids when I die?’ and that impacted me,” she said.
“So I decided that I would help fundraise and that builds homes for kids with disability, so that’s been my passion to make sure that when these parents die, their kids have somewhere to live beyond them.
“Giving your time and your energy to our community, it gives you a sense of belonging to the community, and you sleep really well at night. I’m a real believer that the more you give, the more you have.”
The CLRS has a range of volunteering opportunities available at the op shop, the Murray River Tearooms or as a fundraising committee member.
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