Volunteer Week: Why Warwick volunteers do what they do for their community
One Warwick resident has dubbed the Rose City as one of “the most wonderful places in the world” due to residents generosity and hard work when it comes to giving back and volunteering for the community.
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From fighting fires and helping our furry friends to providing meals for those in need and guiding men to become the best version of themselves, Warwick is filled to the brim with organisations dedicated to help the community and make the Rose City a better place – and run by hard working volunteers to make it happen.
For Volunteers Week 2023, Warwick Daily News takes a look at some of the tireless volunteers which are helping to shape the town into the best version of itself:
Rev Ansie Liebenberg and Warwick Uniting Church disciples
Masterminded by the hardworking volunteers from Warwick, Killarney and Freestone Uniting Church, the volunteers at Courthouse Cuppa always are ready on Monday mornings with a chat and home-baked sweet treat.
Volunteers stand outside the Courthouse with enough tea, coffee and baked goods and are always ready for a chat before court appearances.
As well as this, the volunteers from the church have spent hundreds of hours renovating a building next to there church which will be used by Protea Place when it opens in a few months.
Reverend Ansie Liebenberg said the congregation had completed over 500 hours of different volunteer work since the beginning of the year on the building.
“We’ve been so amazed with the most amazing people on our journey with our team of volunteers, every week they’re working. If you’ve seen it it’s a bit like my resurrection story because it’s been transformed completely, it has been beautifully restored you wouldn’t believe it was the same place,” she said.
Jeff Harth – Warwick Men’s Shed
Warwick Men’s Shed has been providing men in the region with a vehicle to remain sociable, teach skills and provide for the community since it opened.
President Jeff Harth is inspired by the energy that the men bring to the group and loves seeing people getting involved and provide for the community through building projects, whether it’s a cubby house for school kids or a bench for a retirement home, it’s all about giving back.
“It was introduced as an idea to help men with their mental health and I think that’s still a big part, but also it’s a great environment that allows men to get together and gets them feeling free to express themselves in any manner whether its personal, health or difficulties,” he said.
Darren Shuptrine – Southern Downs ARK/ Warwick Parkrun
Darren Shuptrine and his family have been going the extra mile- or several- with Warwick Parkrun since getting involved with the organisation as a director for the last five years.
The organisation‘s main goal is to get people active and into the community, and hosts runs (or walks) each weekend.
“Parkrun itself is purely volunteer based, we just hope people contribute and volunteer so we can keep facilitating that space which encourage an active life,” Mr Shuptrine.
Additionally, Darren and his family have been foster owner’s for dogs by partnering with ARK Southern Downs, hosting and caring for neglected dogs until they find their forever home.
Catherine Cazaly – Frankie the Warwick Community Van
Warwick Nurse Catherine Cazaly started a humble community van during the darkest moments of a horrific drought, and it’s still going to this day, providing hot meals and services to some of the Rose City’s most vulnerable.
The mum of four’s van, dubbed ‘Frankie’, can regularly be spotted around Warwick, mainly in Leslie Park, helping those in need since 2018.
“This woman is incredible for her service and commitment to making the world a better place for others,” friend Donna Page wrote on Facebook earlier this month.
“Lots of people in Warwick don't have a home, or they’re in between places, or they’re having problems with their parents- they just need a warm bed and a meal,” Mrs Cazaly told Warwick Daily News in 2019.
“We just want to give people something for nothing and just feed them with love.”
You can find the van most weekends at Leslie Park, or on Facebook for any updates.
Joanne Wallace- Lighthouse Community Centre
The Lighthouse Community Centre has been active in the Warwick community for, acting as a community outreach centre for at risk individuals supplying them with clothing, furniture in food during tough times.
The service also offers domestic violence service supports around 500 at risk people in the Warwick area and also has engaged with the Share the Dignity campaign.
Volunteer and Lighthouse co-ordinator Joanne Wallace said she’d been volunteering with the organisation since late 2021 and said she’d “been in the right place at the right time” to work her way up to be co-ordinator.
Protea Place
This first of its kind women’s support centre expected to launch in the coming months, with a focus on providing dignity, support and safety to vulnerable women in the region.
The charity opening in Toowoomba in 2019 and has quickly became a community staple, providing essential resources and support for women in need.
Protea place announced it was expanding to the Rose City late last year, with CEO Amanda Dalton telling Warwick Daily News the community had already plead time, effort, money and volunteer work into getting the project off the ground.
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