Benalla Girl Guides celebrated for community service at Christmas party

By Simon Ruppert

Dec 11, 2023

Superstars: Benalla's Girl Guides were recognised for their voluntary work in the community by Lions Club members Peter and Marg Poels, at its recent Christmas party on Wednesday, December 6. Photo by Simon Ruppert

Benalla is well known for service groups that dedicate hundreds of hours to voluntary community projects, but it’s worth noting that youngsters in the Rose City are just as generous.

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On Wednesday, December 6, Benalla Girl Guides’ nine young members were presented with certificates to honour their volunteer hours in 2023 by the Lions Club at a Christmas party in the Rocket Park.

Lions Club president Peter Poels said the club was pleasantly surprised by the number of hours these dedicated youngsters had given to their community.

Volunteer Service Award recipients:

Emily Snell — 228 hours

Olivia Goodwin — 220 hours

Erin Jenkins — 214 hours

Jacinta Woodward — 206 hours

Rebecca Goodwin — 168 hours

Molly Baxter — 156 hours

Ngarie Burke — 154 hours

Viola Duryea — 154 hours

Jolene Purcell — 130 hours

“We normally give out certificates for up to 100 service hours, but when we tallied all the figures, all had done much more,” Mr Poels said.

In fact, four of them had completed more than double that number.

“We’ve been doing this for about four years now, and it’s a great opportunity for us to recognise the hard work of the youth in Benalla,” Mr Poels said.

“We gave certificates to nine young people today and a bag of lollies they were pretty happy with.

“Lions also provided soft drinks for the party.”