Founder Of Local Charity Wins NSW Central West Region Volunteer Of The Year Awards

Former religious social worker and founder of The Farm in Galong, Kate Cleary, has been named the 2024 Central West Volunteer of the Year for her work supporting women impacted by trauma to rebuild their lives.

The NSW Volunteer of the Year Awards are an annual program aimed at recognising the incredible dedication, effort, and community service of thousands of individuals and volunteer teams from a diverse range of organisations across the state.

The Awards program has grown to become one of the largest celebrations of volunteering in Australia.

In 2023, more than 133,000 nominees from over 500 organisations were recognised at regional and state ceremonies.

The Centre for Volunteering holds 25 regional ceremonies across NSW regional and suburban centres. As a finalist, Ms Cleary will be invited to attend a State Gala ceremony in Sydney in December, during which the overall winners and 2024 NSW Volunteer of the Year will be announced.

Ms Cleary said the measure of a society was the condition of its women and children.

“When I first started meeting women on public-housing complexes whose children had been taken into care - so many of them - I knew something was wrong with the way we do things as a community,” Ms Cleary said.

“It shocked me to see the conditions they were living in and to learn that because of these, they were deprived of their children.”

The aim of The Farm is to reunite families and provide a strong foundation for long-term recovery. It provides a place of restoration for women and children affected by substance abuse.

It equips residents for independent living by offering vocational education and training opportunities and helping them to establish ordered, reflective and productive habits for life.

For those residents who have had children removed, The Farm works with them towards the restoration of their children. During their time at The Farm, residents complete a course of training and begin the process of restoration of relationships with their families.

Residents become increasingly in dependent as they move through the program and, in consultation with staff, monitor readiness for re-entry to independent living. Readiness is judged as the ability to access a job, a house and a social support network.

For more information on The Farm in Galong, including how you can support this local charity through volunteering or providing a financial contribution, visit www.thefarmingalong.com.au

• Topics:

• Volunteering
• People
• Awards