Ms Crouchâs dedication to people with disabilities and the wider Sunshine Coast community set her apart.
âI was very shocked, I had actually read the list of amazing people who were up for this award and I never even considered that I would be lucky enough to win it,â she said.
âThere was a little piece of paper in the instructions that said âif youâre nominated write a few wordsâ and I thought âoh itâs a waste of timeâ.â
Despite being nominated in the second largest category, Carmelâs powerful story of promoting change and opportunity in the disability community was highlighted as a standout.
Sunshine Coast Council
At a special ceremony attended by more than 250 dignitaries, nominees and their guests, Cheryl Harris, a strong advocate for volunteering and volunteers, was today (January 22) named 2021 Sunshine Coast Citizen of the Year.
As the Volunteering Sunshine Coast CEO, Cheryl has been an outstanding advocate for volunteers over the last 10 years. Under her stewardship, volunteering has grown significantly on the Sunshine Coast through collaboration with local government, business and strong community partnerships.
Today there are around 64,000 volunteers supporting the Sunshine Coast community in widely diverse fields.
Cheryl’s work has encompassed assisting people who were seeking paid employment to participate in volunteer work with a view to keeping skills updated and building self-esteem through the Pathways to Employment program, coordinating volunteers during a disaster event and referring potential new volunteers to not-for-profit organisations across a