Central Coast resident Peter Pearce received one of the top volunteering awards during National Volunteer Week celebrations when he took out the 2023 ShelterBox Volunteer Excellence Award.
Pearce has dedicated much of his life to helping communities in need, both locally and internationally.
He received an OAM in 2016 for his community work, was named Gosford Citizen of the Year in 2014, and was recognised by Rotary International with a Paul Harris Fellowship.
After 20 deployments as a ShelterBox Response Team member, delivering aid to disaster affected communities around the world, Pearce decided to focus his energy on raising awareness about ShelterBox in the community.
Over the last year, he helped to raise over $14,000 from Rotary Clubs around the Central Coast for disaster relief.
He was also instrumental in arranging shopping centre activations for appeals for both the war in Ukraine and earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria, raising considerable funds and promoting ShelterBox to thousands of people.
ShelterBox Australia CEO Mike Greenslade said Pearce was an asset to the ShelterBox team and had made a significant contribution to sheltering people in need in countries like Ukraine, Türkiye, Syria and Ethiopia.
“Our volunteer workforce is the driving force behind our deployments overseas and Peter’scapacity to promote our work has been unrivalled this year,” he said.
Volunteer Program Manager Kieryn Deutrom said ShelterBox had more than 100 volunteers across Australia.
“Peter has prioritised ShelterBox over the last year which has been amazing,” Deutrom said.
“He has a natural ability to motivate others to support ShelterBox and show how their donation can positively impact a family in desperate need of shelter.”
New research shows that over half of Australians volunteer in their towns and cities, freely giving their time, energy and skills to others.
In a statement earlier this year, Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth said volunteers offer the invaluable asset of time, contributing their knowledge and experiences to activities and causes out of kindness and a sense of community.
“The sector is integral to the fabric of our nation,” she said.
The ShelterBox Volunteer Awards are an annual event during National Volunteer Week which is highly anticipated and celebrates the outstanding contributions of volunteers across Australia.
Source:
ShelterBox
Congratulations Peter
You are a consistent outstanding and invitational performer in helping those in desperate need