National Volunteer Week at the Monte
Sydney’s Montefiore Home celebrated National Volunteer Week 2016 with an Israeli breakfast and presentation of service awards at the Randwick Campus.
This year’s theme, Give Happy Live Happy, introduced in 2015 was an opportunity for Montefiore to celebrate and thank its strong army of volunteers for their contribution to its elderly residents.
The guest speaker at this year’s function included Dr Ron Weiser AM, who presented on Volunteering: Australia and Israel – a combined history. Ron is a practicing dentist, Honorary Life President of the Zionist Council of NSW, past President of Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA) and Life member of the ZFA Executive. Ron also has received a member of the Order of Australia for service to the community for leadership roles with the Zionist Federation of Australia, for promotion and development of Australia-Israel relations, and for helping the youth.
Dr Weiser this year celebrated his 44th year of volunteering in the community. He gave a fascinating talk and inspired the message that as a volunteer, “If you have enough drive, if you have enough belief, the things you can achieve are beyond a dream.”
“Montefiore has a proud history of volunteering. We have a valued team of dedicated volunteers providing a range of support services in and around Montefiore. Currently our 500 plus active volunteers provide on average 40,000 volunteer support hours annually. By giving generously of their time and sharing their talents, our volunteers contribute to the social and emotional wellbeing of our ageing residents and enhance their quality of life,” said Hazel Stein, Volunteer Manager at Montefiore Home.
“Today we are celebrating our volunteers who help make the lives of our residents happier, and too are happier and healthier as a result,” added Ms Stein.
Volunteers with continuous service to Montefiore Home were also recognised with their Spirit of Volunteering 2016 service awards certificates of appreciation, presented by President, David Freeman and CEO, Robert Orie.