5/12/2006 - 2006 National Galatti Award Winner Announced!
On International Volunteer Day, AFS Australia is proud to announce Kathryn Smith from Woongarrah, NSW the national winner of the 2006 AFS Australia Galatti Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service.
Kathy is being recognised for her commitment and dedication to AFS and her extensive involvement in the organisation that has spanned more than three decades.
As an AFS student in her teens, Kathy travelled from the USA to New Zealand. Upon her return, she continued to stay involved in AFS through volunteering. She then married husband Dan, also an AFS returnee and their involvement in international exchange was passed onto their twins, Aaron and Ben, also AFS returnees and volunteers.
Kathy was chosen based on her 35 years of volunteer service, as well as her active involvement and leadership within her local AFS group. Kathy has not only sent her sons overseas, but has also accepted four international exchange students into her home as a host mother. She says the relationships that are formed through AFS make the experience worthwhile.
“Whether it is the fun of getting to know hosted students, supporting Australian students as they prepare to go overseas, dealing with the tensions between students and host families or developing friendships with other AFS volunteers, it is rewarding to see the growth in individuals of all ages and the discoveries they make about themselves,” she said
Established in 1983, the Galatti Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service honors AFS community volunteers whose commitment and exceptional dedication have advanced the mission and goals of AFS. AFS founder Stephen Galatti was an idealist, a visionary, a trail blazer and a pragmatist who built and transformed AFS from an organisation that transported the war wounded into one that now provides international and intercultural exchange programs to over 11,000 participants every year.
Together, on International Volunteer Day from all of us at AFS Australia, we would like to congratulate Kathy on this huge achievement and thank her for the contribution over her 35 years of volunteer service.
Media Contact:
Barbara Ratusznik
barbara.ratusznik@afs.org
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