Council to honour memory of Bella Ainsworth
By Aaron Cordy
VOLUNTEERS will always be the backbone of many organisations. These highly valued people often slip under the radar working behind the scenes of many organisations throughout the community. To show local volunteers that their dedication doesn’t go unnoticed, Greater Shepparton City Council is calling for nominations for the Volunteer Recognition Awards.
In its 16th year, the VRA will again have four categories for nominations:
• Adult Volunteer: 26 years of age and over.
• Volunteer Team: A group of two or more people.
• Long Serving Volunteer: 15 years or more service.
• Young Volunteer: 12 to 25 years of age.
This year the award for young volunteers has been renamed the Bella Ainsworth Young Volunteer Award, in honour of the beloved community member who tragically lost her battle with cancer last year. Bella, a former staff member of council and The Lighthouse Foundation, was an advocate for young people in the community.
“Bella was the most amazing advocate for young people and community. So, some members of the community and ourselves thought that renaming the award the Bella Ainsworth Young Volunteer Award would be a fitting way to provide a tribute to her,” said Emma Hofmeyer, Community Development Officer at the council.
“We want to inspire people to nominate young people for the category. We’re hoping that we see record numbers of young volunteer nominees this year. There’re so many young people doing good things in the volunteering space, and we feel like if they just get a little bit of recognition, they will continue to build that in their lifetime,” said Emma.
“Young people are volunteering in not necessarily such a formal way, they might not be volunteering for an organisation, but you see a lot of young people volunteering in sport and those things are crucial to keep sporting clubs going and they might not see themselves as volunteers.”
The awards night will be held on Monday, May 19, at the Eastbank Centre and will have guests including Richmond AFLW player, Grace Egan and the Ludlow twins.
VRA nominations close at 5pm on Monday, February 24. Visit to nominate a volunteer at https://greatershepparton.com.au/community/neighbourhoods/awards/volunteer-awards.
If any community members need assistance filling in the nomination form, they can drop into Council on Welsford Street, Shepparton, phone 5832 9700 or email council@shepparton.vic.gov.au
