Thank you volunteers

Cobram Lions Club secretary Janet Austin, who has been volunteering for about 40 years, said she is not a volunteer for the recognition and instead does it to lend a helping hand.

“I do for the smile when you do something nice for someone, not the accolade side of it. But I think it does a lot of good to see who our volunteers are,” she said.

“I think a lot of these small towns would be lost without the volunteers. There’s a lot of things going on that just happen.

“Without the help, we can’t give back to the community, because that’s what we do, we give back to the community.”

Ellie Stephens is another community volunteer as the Cobram Rotary president, which is an international service organisation that has been operating in Cobram since 1954.

She said being a volunteer has given her a great opportunity to connect socially with the community, while serving a greater purpose.

“I think it’s really, really important because not only do you have like-minded people getting together to do good work for their community, you get to make real connections and make real friends. And that’s what happened to me,” she said.

“It brings some sense of fulfilment when you get into a project and you do something really well ... we’ve achieved that as a team you know and I think that’s really important.

“We all get on and have good fun, we believe in having a good laugh. But when the serious stuff comes along, we get in there as a team and get things done.”

Cobram Community House is one such organisation that leans on volunteers to provide supportive and essential services to all aspects of the community.

Community House manager Christine Osborne said the organisation is very grateful to every volunteer that helps out with every aspect.

“We are fortunate to have generous volunteers who assist with catering, administration, cleaning, maintenance, gardening and education support,” she said.

“Volunteers make an enormous contribution to Cobram Community House — we would not be able to offer the same level of service without the help of our volunteers.

“They bring passion, energy and skills that we are extremely grateful for.”

Ms Osborne said volunteers are the “lifeblood” of the community, which relies on their skills and generosity — but volunteers also benefit.

“I have made some wonderful friends through my volunteering on kindergarten and school committees and sporting organisations,” she said.

“I encourage people to consider volunteering and to get involved in the community.

“Thank you to all the volunteers in the community, your contribution and efforts makes our community a better place."