An 89-year-old woman who has spent half her life helping homeless South Australians, and a group constructing emergency shelters in the remote APY Lands were among five outstanding individuals and organisations honoured at the 2024 South Australian Volunteer Awards held on 22 May to coincide with National Volunteer Week.

The gala event was hosted by 5AA presenter Stacey Lee at the National Wine Centre, and was full of goodwill, joy and even some tears.

Presented by Volunteering SA&NT and supported by the Department of Human Services, the awards were established in 2005 and recognise the invaluable work that volunteers, volunteer managers, community organisations and businesses contribute to the South Australian community.

An independent judging panel assessed the nominations in terms of commitment, level of service and how the nominee’s work benefited the South Australian community.

The State of Volunteering South Australia 2023 report, released the same day, revealed there are more than 950,000 South Australians volunteering annually, either formally or informally. Their collective effort amounts to an astounding 3.8 million hours per week, totalling 223 million hours in 2023.

Congratulations to all the nominees, finalists and winners!

Learn more about the winners and see the list of SA Volunteer Award recipients