The winners of this year’s Logan City Volunteers Awards have been announced and praised for their community contributions.
The winner of this year’s Frank Lenz Memorial Award for Volunteer of the Year was Deborah Bright – and she understands the companionship between an owner and their pet better than most.
The dedicated cat rescuer was nominated for her efforts in rescuing and rehoming more than 10,000 cats and kittens over the past 30 years.
Her charity, Little Paws Kitten Rescue was founded in 1990.
The organisation is not just about rehoming local cats, but also on educating the public about properly caring for the animals.
It also exists to spread joy, with Deborah visiting aged care homes regularly over the years, just to bring smiles to the residents’ faces.
Logan City Mayor Darren Power said Deborah was a worthy winner of this year’s individual volunteer award.
“Deborah has done some amazing work in Logan for 30 years and has touched and enhanced so many people’s lives through her efforts with Little Paws,” Mayor Power said.
“She is a shining example of how our volunteers in this City operate; quietly and behind the scenes, doing what they can every day to make life a little bit better for us all.”
The winner of the Davida Steele Memorial Award for an Outstanding Community Organisation is the Rochedale Springwood Meals on Wheels service.
It is an organisation also built on the value of companionship.
The group’s award attests that its volunteers provide not just food and drink but friendship on a day-to-day basis.
Mayor Power said the Meals on Wheels organisation was irreplaceable in its outreach efforts in the local community.
“We know that many of those who have to access services such as Meals on Wheels are lonely, or isolated in their everyday lives,” he said.
“Just as their bodies need food, their minds need the friendship and emotional support our Meals on Wheels volunteers gladly provide.
“This year, with the worries of the COVID-19 pandemic having had a major impact on our collective mental health, their efforts are more important than ever.
“Meals on Wheels makes an incredible difference in our communities and thoroughly deserves this recognition.”
Certificates were awarded to each finalist in the 2020 City of Logan Volunteer Awards.
Individual volunteers will also receive a City of Logan Volunteer 2020 badge.
The City of Logan Volunteer Awards ceremony was live streamed for the first time. Visit the Logan City Council Youtube channel to watch the ceremony.
