Barwon Health volunteer honoured for decade of giving back

BARWON Health volunteer Heather Miller is this year’s Volunteer of the Year.

The annual awards program, delivered by Volunteering Geelong in partnership with the Rotary Club of Kardinia, recognises volunteers who have gone above and beyond to support their community.

The 2025 awards were presented at an awards ceremony at the Wurriki Nyal Civic Precinct last week

“I’ve never, ever consider that I do enough for people to receive acknowledgement like this, so I’m fluttering,” Ms Miller said while accepting the award.

“All the other people who have been nominated today for awards are just a small proportion of the hundreds of volunteers out there who do their volunteering work because they get something back.

“Giving back to the community in any shape or form, helping others in whatever they volunteer in, ultimately brings a sense of yourself having made a difference, and that’s all I’ve ever really wanted to do.”

 

Ms Miller began volunteering 10 years ago, after retiring from her more than 35-year career in community pharmacy, choosing to pursue support roles in the health field.

Presently, she provides transport to cancer patients who would otherwise be unable to travel to their medical appointments and offers companionship to families and patients navigating the challenge end-of-life process.

Ms Miller is also a trained witness for the volunteer assisted dying program, a role she describes as her most “fulfilling”.

The Volunteer of the Year award was one of five handed out on the night, with each winner receiving a handcrafted trophy from Wadawurrung Glass, and a $1,000 prize, of which $750 was donated to a charity of their choosing.

Volunteering Geelong president Lily Stefanovic said the event was about more than just recognising this year’s 15 finalists, it was about promoting the benefits of volunteering.

 

“If we all walked away from here tonight with the ability to share a story, or encourage someone to volunteer, whether that be one day, one week, or the year, I think everyone would get some personal gain from that,” she said.

The other award recipients were:

Leadership Award – Stephen Bentley, a mentor supporting young learner drivers to gain supervised driving hours as part of the city’s L2P program

Service Award – Maree Brusaschi, who has been volunteering across the region for 65 years, including as president of the Geelong Calisthenics College for the past two decades

Inclusion Award – The Pulse 94.7 FM volunteer-run community radio station, which actively supports visually impaired audiences through accessible content and offers opportunities to individuals facing barriers, and

Youth Award – Maggie O’Neill, the youngest board member of outreach homelessness service The Outpost.