THOSE who know Lily Gould were probably not surprised when she was recently honoured with the Whittlesea International Women’s Day Award. The woman herself, however, didn’t see it coming.
“There were lots of people in the room and I thought everyone was more deserving than me,” Gould says. “I was really thrilled.”
The award, organised by Whittlesea Community Connections and sponsored by Whittlesea City Council and local businesses, was created to recognise extraordinary contribution to the local community.
Gould has done precisely that since she arrived in Whittlesea nine years ago.
“I joined the Whittlesea Courthouse just to get to know a few people and of course it went from there to Probus and from there to the Whittlesea Show. That’s how you become involved,” she says.
Gould co-ordinates donations from Probus members to be sent to Malawi and Zambia through the Central Africa Relief Goods Container Appeal. She also organises tours for fellow Probus members (on the cards is Hawaii in June and Western Australia in September), is a member of Whittlesea Senior Citizens’ Club, sells her hand-knitted scarves and hats at district weekend markets and has worked at Epic’s Diamond Creek
op shop for 11 years.
“I think it’s most important for people to volunteer and there’s lots of things for people to do,” she says. “There’s no excuse for being bored these days.”
The International Women’s Day Award also acknowledged Gould’s efforts after the Black Saturday bushfires.
“I was at the Courthouse when I heard on the radio they [firefighters] were looking for plastic bags and batteries, so I raced into the $2 shop and spent $100 on batteries, then got myself past police to the Arthurs Creek fire station,’’ she says.
‘‘Once I was there I stayed for a month, making sandwiches and rolls and goodness knows what.”
The grandmother of four and great-grandmother of one says community involvement not only broadens her social circle but keeps her mind working.
“I’m 75, so it keeps me busy. I’m struggling with arthritis now and the knees don’t seem to want to work as much as they used to, but I just keep pushing on.”
There’s no other place in the world in which Gould would rather keep on keeping on.
“I think Whittlesea is the loveliest place to live,” she says.
