Local 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 Centre for Volunteering holds 25 regional ceremonies across NSW regional and suburban centres. The Awards program has grown to become one of the largest celebrations of volunteering in Australia.
“The measure of a society is the condition of its women and children," Kate said.
"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 very wrong with the way we do things as a community.
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"It shocked me to see the conditions they were living in and to learn that because of these, they were deprived of their children."
In 2023, more than 133,000 nominees from over 500 organisations were recognised at Regional and State ceremonies.
Kate will now be invited to attend a State Gala ceremony in Sydney in December as a finalist, during which the overall winners and 2024 NSW Volunteer of the Year are announced.
Staff, clients, and those that volunteer or provide financial support to The Farm in Galong are all thrilled to see that the outstanding work Kate has done to establish The Farm in Galong is being recognised at the state level.
The aim of The Farm is to reunite families and provide a strong foundation for long-term recovery.
The Farm 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 independent 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.
About The Farm in Galong: 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.
The Farm is a not-for-profit charitable organisation located in country NSW, with DGR1 status.
Organisations with DGR1 status are entitled to receive donations that are deductible from a donor's income tax.
This means when a donor makes a gift or contribution to a DGR endorsed charity, they may be able to claim a tax deduction.
The amount of the claim will depend on the type of gift or contribution they make.
