Volunteers turn out to celebrate International Volunteer Day

The weather was perfect on Friday, 2 December, as approximately 90 Volunteers, Special Guests and staff of Mersey Community Care gathered at the organisation’s facility, at 167 Steele Street, to honour and celebrate the dedication and commitment that the Volunteers have made within our local communities during 2016.

The staff at Mersey Community Care put on their aprons and cooked up a storm on the BBQ, complete with salads and delicious House of Anvers cakes for dessert.

Each year, The House of Anvers donates one of the cakes and Banjo’s Bakery Café donates the bread. The Honourable Mike Gaffney also supports the organisation, by way of donation, which is put to good use in purchasing another of the cakes. The organisation is very grateful for the ongoing generosity of local businesses and people who consistently support us to host this wonderful annual event for our Volunteers.

Special Guest, Deon Kenzie, who recently won a Silver Medal at the Rio Paralympic Games spoke with the Volunteers about his journey to Rio and the thrill of representing Australia and winning a medal for his country. The Volunteers were thrilled when Deon passed around his Silver Medal for everyone to hold.

Devonport Mayor Steve Martin, Latrobe Mayor Peter Freshney and The Honourable Mike Gaffney, took time out of their busy schedules to drop in and share in some of the celebrations.

Mayor Steve Martin and Mayor Peter Freshney announced a one-off donation, that each of the Councils are making to Mersey Community Care, to assist the organisation to replace one of the ageing fleet vehicles.

The members and staff of the organisation were overwhelmed by this announcement and will proudly sign the new vehicle to acknowledge the kind donation from both Councils.

MCCA offers Transport, Social Support, Spring Cleaning and Home Maintenance services to clients and their carers living in the Devonport, Latrobe, Kentish and Central Coast municipalities.

Both Mayor Martin and Mayor Freshney addressed those in attendance and paid tribute to the wonderful work that Volunteers do in our communities. Mayor Martin said that “Volunteers are the back bone of our community and do so much work in many different fields of volunteerism and we thank you all immensely”.

The Management and staff at Mersey Community Care would like to wish all of our Volunteers a very Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year and thank you again for supporting us to provide such wonderful services to our many clients and their carers.
Kathryn Edmunds Operations Manager Mersey Community Care Association Inc.