By Shelby Brooks
Despite volunteering in the hills community for many years, Cardinia Shire Council’s Citizen of the Year Shelley Beardshaw was not expecting to take out the top accolade in the 2023 Australia Day Awards.
Shelley first discovered her love of volunteering in 1988 when she helped organise a street party for Celebrate ‘88.
The joy she experienced from that event inspired her to join parent’s associations, playgroups and tutor groups as her four children grew up.
Over the years she also helped run the Debutante Ball for Upwey Secondary College and was a tutor for refugees at Swinburne University.
“You put your hand up, it helps you and it helps the community,” Shelley said.
“You name it, I’ve tried it as a volunteer.”
At 40, Shelley became a mature aged student at Deakin University studying to become a teacher.
“I decided I quite liked working with children,” she said.
Shelley was a prep teacher for 20 years at Upwey South and Belgrave South Primary Schools before she retired.
Her last posting was at Kallista Primary School.
Three years ago, Shelley moved to Emerald from Belgrave South to be closer to her family.
“I have three children who married Emeraldians,” she said.
Meeting her neighbour when she moved into her new home, she discovered he was the president of the Emerald Village Association.
“I asked him if he wanted any help and he said yes,” Shelley said.
“The next thing – that was it, I dived in.”
Shelley quickly threw herself into volunteering for the association, setting up a pen pal program for primary school students and seniors in Emerald during Covid-19.
Through the success with that initiative, she helped develop the Come Sit By Me program, which will begin its second iteration this year.
It’s a program for seniors in the community to teach Emerald Primary School Grade 3 students fun skills, such as how to knit, sing, fold origami, cook and play table tennis.
“A lot of seniors were reluctant to step back into the community after Covid-19,” Shelley said.
“We had one lady who had not virtually been out of the house for a couple of years apart from grocery shopping and she suddenly found an opportunity to work with young kids.”
Another of Shelley’s Emerald volunteering highlights is with the playgroup at the Hills Hub.
“Playgroup is a family’s first steps into the community and is very important,” she said.
“I’ve still got friends from my first playgroup in Perth – my eldest child now is 44 years old.”
Her connection with Emerald Primary School is strong; she also volunteered reading to children last year.
“Lots of kids were at risk, two years without kinder or Prep because of Covid-19 and suddenly you’re at school,” she said.
“Teachers are doing it hard at the moment, that two-year gap.”
Shelley loves making connections with children.
“Talking to kids – that’s what I do,” she said.
“If somebody gives you a positive reaction to you, if I smile at a child walking into the playground who doesn’t want to leave mum, if I say how are you going, that will make a difference to their life.
“It’s because they think somebody cares enough about me to smile at me – somebody told me that a long time ago and I’ve practised that.”
Shelley was named Cardinia Shire Council’s Citizen of the Year at the 2023 Australia Day Awards.
She said she was thrilled and humbled.
“The hoopla was a bit overwhelming,” she said.
“I’m a volunteer, and you get so much joy from being a volunteer and connecting with the community.
“If my win does anything to raise the profile of volunteering, that would be wonderful because there are so many unsung heroes of volunteering.”
