By Laura Michell
Passionate volunteers have been recognised for their dedication to helping others at Australia Day award ceremonies in Whittlesea and Hume.
Alan Roberts was named Whittlesea’s Citizen of the Year, for his work with Whittlesea Community Connections (WCC).
Mr Roberts has lived in Whittlesea for 51 years and began volunteering at WCC in May 2007.
Mr Roberts helps community members with any queries they have and supports people to access appropriate and integrated services. He hopes to become involved in The Whittlesea Food Collective, which is led by WCC.
Three other Whittlesea residents were recognised for their community spirit.
CFA volunteer Ray Rosales was named Senior Citizen of the Year. Mr Rosales has been a CFA member for almost 12 years and also volunteers with St Vincent de Paul and Christ the Light Catholic Parish.
Vivian Ly was named Young Citizen of the Year for her social justice work, including organising a fair trade expo to raise aware of the issues of human trafficking and fundraising for asylum seekers.
Australian Chaldean Family Welfare founder Dalal Sulaiman was named Access and Inclusion Citizen of the Year for her work helping new migrants and refugees to settle in Australia.
Sunbury’s Tracie Oldham and Sue Buckman were named the joint winners of Hume’s Citizen of the Year award.
Ms Oldman was recognised for her work as a advocate for mental health. She leads three support groups: All Survivors of Child Abuse Matter, We Are All Survivors and All LGBTQIA+ Matter.
Ms Buckman received the award for her work improving public access to defibrillators across the country. Ms Buckman started Defib for Life after her son Stephen had a sudden cardiac arrest at football training in March 2010, leading to the 19-year-old’s death.
Craigieburn War Memorial and Remembrance Committee member Teagan Denny was named Hume’s Young Citizen of the Year.
Ms Denny runs the committee social media platforms and is also a Craigieburn SES volunteer and helps support the Craigieburn Blue Light Disco.
