Manningham Civic Award nominations are open!

It’s that time of year again when Manningham recognise local stars in the community.

Nominations are open to shine a light on a Manningham community organisation or resident who has made an outstanding contribution to the lives of the local community - through volunteer, paid or unpaid work.

There are five award categories:

• Citizen of the Year

• Young Citizen of the Year

• Doreen Stoves Volunteer of the Year

• Sports Volunteer of the Year

• Community Organisation of the Year.

Previous winners have been local community members who have contributed in one of the categories and have made a difference to the lives of others through their own dedication, commitment and hard work.

Last year’s Doreen Stoves Volunteer of the Year recipient, Varvara Ioannou, was nominated for creating inclusive schools, universities, workplaces, community organisations and communities. Varara spoke about being recognised for her contributions. “I feel really honoured to have been recognised. Because what I do is not easy. I’m all about culture change; all the committees and all the work I’ve been doing have contributed to creating inclusive workplaces, schools and communities. Cultural change is slow.”

Volunteering is just one of the many ways that Manningham acknowledges its local members. They also awarded the CareNet Program the Community Organisation of the Year, for providing much needed food relief to the community. CareNet has overcome barriers to food accessibility, making food relief easy and available in a safe place for those in need.

Anyone can nominate for a Manningham Civic Award and it is a great way to show a dedicated colleague or friend that their work is valued and honoured. Last year’s Young Citizen of the Year Award went to Stephanie Martinez, who started volunteering at the age of 12. Stephanie said, “It makes you feel amazing being recognised for all the work you do and I would definitely urge those considering nominating to do so”.

Nominations are open until Friday 10 July at 4pm, and the winners will be presented at the Manningham Civic Awards Gala Ceremony on 16 August 2023.

For more information visit manningham.vic.gov.au/ manningham-civic-awards

Victoria’s waste and recycling industry will finally have access to a Container Deposit Scheme (CDS) by 1 November 2023. The scheme will be run by three network operators across the State.

In the Eastern region, Visy has been appointed as one of the network operators to deliver the CDS supported by Envirobank, an Australian-owned and recognised indigenous business to manage refund collection points.

This will support the Victorian Government Recycling Victoria – Victoria’s Circular Economy Policy and Action Plan to standardise waste and recycling services across Victoria.

Manningham Mayor, Cr Deirdre Diamante said, we are in discussions with Visy to establish collection and refund points at convenient locations across Manningham for our residents.

Manningham’s Draft Community Infrastructure Plan is now available for your feedback before being finalised later this year.

We are seeking your feedback on the draft plan during the consultation period that is open until 4.00pm on 31 May 2023.

During the public exhibition period we are holding three information sessions:

• Thursday 11 May at 6.00pm, online

• Wednesday 17 May at 1.00pm, in-person at Heimet Centre, 125 George St, Doncaster East (this session)

• Tuesday 23 May at 7.00pm, in-person at MC2 Doncaster Room, 699 Doncaster Road, Doncaster

We value and encourage comments from our community. We will amend the draft plan in response to relevant feedback before the final version is presented to Council for adoption in late 2023.

About the Draft Community Infrastructure Plan

The Draft Community Infrastructure Plan outlines Manningham’s long-term direction for community-based infrastructure over the next 20 years and provides a basis for Council’s investment in new facilities. It will also help us make decisions about existing community assets that may need an upgrade or reconfiguring to meet emerging community demands.