Auspire Australia Day Citizen of the Year Awards 2022

At the Australia Day Citizenship and Volunteer Awards ceremony held at Sir James Mitchell Park, the City of South Perth recognised some of the outstanding efforts in several volunteer categories including youth, adult, senior citizen and teams.

It was a thrill to see Kurtis Tanna and Jack Johnston receive their nominations for Youth of the Year.

Jack went on to receive Junior Citizen of the Year for 2021. In his citation, he was recognised for the many hours he has given to the Red Cross Soup Patrol, Aged Care, myFutures Castlereagh Special Needs, Bushcare and Environment and After-School Mentoring. He was the recipient of the John Beekink Award 2021 and has achieved Service Colours and Honours. Kurtis had already received Junior Volunteer of the Year for the City of South Perth in December 2021 for is work with Capes for Kids, Edmund Rice Camps and various other projects. Both of these young men are amazing role models and ambassadors for Aquinas College.

The Aquinas Outreach Program was also nominated for the Teams award. This program involves the monthly Cooking Roster for the Doorways Street Outreach as well as the Weekend Breakfast Patrol. Representing the program was Lisa Kennedy, Hans op den Dries and John Richards. The group was formed in early 2020 in response to a need to feed the homeless that wasn’t being met because of the impact of lockdowns and social distancing. Every weekend, food is prepared and served to an average of thirty people each morning. Every month, three cooks prepare a tray of food to feed clients on Friday-Sunday nights.