Contributors recognised during National Volunteer Week

This story is now free to read. Help Murray Bridge News tell more stories like this by subscribing today.

Without volunteers, where would Murray Bridge be?

The city’s mayor has reflected on that point at an afternoon tea for council volunteers held last Tuesday for National Volunteer Week.

As well as keeping dozens of local sporting clubs and community groups running, between last July and this April, volunteers had been responsible for:

• Greeting 2200 visitors to the Round House and Captain’s Cottage
• Witnessing 1500 documents for 500 local people
• Driving 600 locals more than 26,000 kilometres to medical appointments
• Removing graffiti at 200 sites
• Replacing more than 200 rolls of dog poo bags

“What would (Murray Bridge) look like if we didn’t have people doing those things?” Mr Thorley asked.

“Imagine what some of our reserves would look like if you didn’t take graffiti off.

“You put yourselves out (there), you make us a better place … and aren’t we blessed?”

In fact, the council had more volunteers than staff on its books, CEO Heather Barclay said: more than 200 to about 170.

She thanked them all for their service.

As well as a cuppa and a bite to eat, each of the several dozen volunteers present was gifted a billy button plant and a kitchen caddy to take home.

National Volunteer Week ran from May 18-24, with the theme “your year to volunteer”.

Almost 3200 Murray Bridge residents counted themselves as volunteers at the last census, in 2021, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

But that number was down by about 650 compared with the era before the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Volunteer with the Murray Bridge council: www.murraybridge.sa.gov.au.

Disclosure: The author is in the process of registering as a volunteer with the council’s Music Connection program.