SYDNEY ROTARY COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD
For many years Sydney Rotary has recognised leading Australian residents for their contribution to their community. This is an exciting opportunity to celebrate the contributions of individuals and entities within our community.
In 2024/25 Sydney Rotary extended the Community Service Award to local members and organisations who are doing amazing Community work in their local area within Greater Sydney (Newcastle to Wollongong and West to Lithgow).
NOMINATIONS
Sydney Rotary is looking for community members and community organisations that fit the criteria below. Please send a brief confidential outline of how they meet the criteria to c/o Secretary@SydneyRotary.com
Please include:
- Name of the individual and /or organisation.
- The contact details of the individual / organisation.
- Background with relevant online links or personal references.
- Description explaining why you think the nominee deserves recognition.
Incomplete submissions will not be processed.
Criteria
Category 1: Individual
The criteria for the Community Services Award for Individuals are as follows:
- The individual’s community service must have had a significant impact in their local area
- The individual must not be carrying out their normal job duties in doing this community work
- The individual should have been doing this community work for at least five years
- The individual must be carrying out this community work as a volunteer or receiving very little money for it
- The individual must not have received other awards, e.g. OAM, for doing this community work
Category 2: Organisation
The criteria for the Community Services Awards for Organisations are the same as the Individual.
Category 3: High Profile Individual
For this category, the nominee of the Community Service Award should be a leading public figure who has had a major impact on the Australian community for many years and whose contribution is not part of their normal job duties.
This individual is required to give a presentation to the Rotary Club of Sydney on the day they receive the Award.
Due diligence will be carried out discreetly on awardees and will remain private and confidential. The nominators will be contacted as a courtesy even if their nominees are not chosen. For privacy reasons, there will be no explanation. Nominees who meet the criteria will be rolled over to the next year if they are not chosen for that year.
Not all categories need be filled every year. Therefore, zero, one, two or three of the categories may be filled per Rotary year. The Service and Awards Committee will forward its recommendations to the Board of Directors of Sydney Rotary for final approval prior to the announcement.
The Service and Awards Committee invites any Sydney Rotary member interested in joining the Community Service Awards Selection Committee to contact the Chair of the Service and Awards Team, at the email below. The Selection Committee Chair will be decided by members of the committee.
Please e-mail nominations to the Chair of the Community Service Awards Committee c/o Secretary@SydneyRotary.com
Recipients of the Rotary Club of Sydney Community Service Award
| 2006-7 | Individual | Sister Claire Nolan |
| 2007-8 | Individual | Rev Bill Crews AM |
| 2008-9 | Individual | Elaine Henry (Smith Family) |
| 2008-9 | Individual | Jack Heath (Inspire Foundation) |
| 2010-11 | Individual | Diana Mahony (Children's Medical Research Institute (CMRI), Westmead Hospital) |
| 2012-13 | Individual | Susan Belling (Girl Guides Australia) |
| 2013-14 | Individual | Anne Knight (Rape & Domestic Violence Services Australia; Girl Guides NSW & ACT) |
| 2014-15 | Individual | John Brogden AM |
| 2015-16 | Individual | Dr Jamal Rifi |
| 2021-22 | Individual | Freny Ardeshir (Sydney Food Share) |
| 2024-25 | Individual | Alexia Paglia (author of My Strong Heart) & Kate Leinart (Surry Hills Neighbourhood Center & Aurora Education Foundation |
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