A CONNECTED COMMUNITY
WORDS Nicole Alberton
MEET SALISBURY’S
TOP CITIZENS A teacher who awards her students L’s, a Vietnam Vet trying to keep the crew together and a young Duke of Edinburgh Award recipient are among the City of Salisbury’s 2022 Australia Day Award winners.
Giving back to the community, whether it’s through her donation of time or expertise, it’s never too much to ask for Eunice, who has even given up space in her home to store 99 plastic storage tubs full of goods for community hampers. She works with a local charity to sort and collate these goods into hampers, which brought Christmas joy to families and the disadvantaged. And as always, Eunice does all of this with a smile.
CITIZEN OF THE YEAR
Eunice Ammerlaan “Eunice is an amazing individual” – these are the first words from her nomination. A dedicated volunteer, she has spent more than six years in the Gaining Your L’s Road Safety Program at the Bagster Road Community Centre. Her great rapport with the community and her ability to connect with people of all ages and backgrounds has helped more than 350 people gain their L’s in 2021. Always eager to see her students succeed, she regularly offers additional tutoring sessions to students, some are non-English speakers or have other barriers such as mental health or learning difficulties. Eunice has proved to be a natural leader during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when despite a significant drop in volunteer numbers, she stepped up and volunteered almost five days a week. 8 | AUTUMN 2022 | SALISBURY AWARE | www.salisbury.sa.gov.au
YOUNG CITIZEN OF THE YEAR
Sofina Le
Sofina Le, 22, was proudly born and raised in the City of Salisbury and is an active citizen who enhances community life through her countless hours of volunteering. After volunteering at the Jack Young Centre as a Café Assistant in 2017 she progressed to Administration Assistant, a position she held until 2020. It was during this time that she became passionate about working in aged care. A passion that led her to volunteer with the ACH Group Help at Home, where she regularly visits a senior resident for social companionship. A role she continues to this day. In fact, she has made a number of great friendships through this program and doesn’t see it as volunteering anymore.
