Aidan Curtis
A PORT MacDonnell volunteer has been recognised after around three decades of working with children.
Lyn Kennedy has been named the Department of Child Protection (DCP) Volunteer of the Year at the 2022 South Australian Child Protection Awards.
Ms Kennedy said she has been volunteering with DCP for nearly 30 years, but did not expect to even be nominated.
“I got that big of a shock when they called me into the office that I just walked straight back out again,” she said.
“It was a big surprise because I would have never expected anything like that.
“I just love doing what I do.”
Ms Kennedy’s role as a volunteer has been to drive children either to see their parents or back to their foster homes, which she said has been very rewarding.
“The enjoyment I get out of it at the end is when the children go back to the parents and seeing the children so happy,” she said.
“We are allotted the children and we stick to the same children, and they get that used to us that they know us and run up and cuddle you.
“They’re really a joy to travel with.”
She said she could not thank the Mount Gambier DCP office enough for nominating her when the staff there do plenty of good work themselves.
“They make it so easy for the volunteers, they’re really terrific people and the hard things they go through, you really appreciate what you’re doing,” she said.
“You see what they’re doing and you think this is easy for us.
“I really appreciate all the workers at DCP and the rest of the volunteers that are there.”
Ms Kennedy said she still has a few good years of volunteering left in her and that she hopes to keep going as long as she is allowed to.
“I’ve got a couple more years in me yet,” she said.
