RALPH Naden, a community volunteer from the locality of Balladoran, 15km south of Gilgandra has been named the NSW Volunteer of Year for 2011.
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The Minister for Citizenship and Communities Victor Dominello, who was the minister responsible for volunteering, presented the award to Mr Naden on International Volunteer Day yesterday at NSW Parliament House.
“I am delighted to celebrate the outstanding contribution of volunteers like Ralph Naden, who has worked tirelessly to help young Aboriginal people connect with their cultural identity and find a positive path in life,” Mr Dominello said.
Mr Naden was in Sydney yesterday to receive his award and his son Phil said the honour was “unreal”
“It’s well deserved, he’s been around a while,” Phil Naden said.
“It’s a true reflection of the man and his worth,” he said.
Ralph Naden was a shearer for “30 or more years” and began working with young and troubled people from about 1995.
Mr Naden, who was speaking from Sydney said he was “over the moon” with the award.
He travelled to Sydney with his daughter, Kim Baker as his wife Audrey was suffering from ill health.
The Minister said Ralph Naden had invested countless hours and his own money into creating a successful camp for Aboriginal youth at Balladoran.
“And has gone out of his way to work with schools and mentor troubled youth in the region.” Our community is richer - socially and economically - because of volunteers,” Mr Dominello said.
