The City of Greater Dandenong Australia Day Volunteer of the Year is awarded to an individual who has dedicated more than 30 years in giving back to the community.
Heather Hanratty hails from a large family of eight siblings from the countryside.
Understandably, she hated being alone.
So, after she married, her two children started schooling and with her husband working far from home, Ms Hanratty mingled with the community and started to volunteer with Meals on Wheels.
“I wanted to go out, mix with people and be part of what’s going on.
“We were country kids, so we made our own fun, we were together most times. When they (my siblings) got married we remained that way, our children have carried it on, they are very close with their cousins now.
“I was happy to get on Meals on Wheels to get started and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
“I can’t walk as quickly as I used to, so I had to give that away.”
The 88-year-old still carries on volunteering however, working with council programs like Planned Activity Group programs.
Through her volunteer work she has touched countless lives, strengthened community ties and ensured some of our most vulnerable residents receive care, respect and support.
She participates in activities like knitting mittens for men and teddy bears for children in hospitals, working together with the diverse communities calling Greater Dandenong home.
While she never expected any awards or recognition for simply doing what she enjoys thoroughly, Ms Hanratty was thrilled along with her tight-knit large family and cousins.
“They were over the moon, You don’t expect it and when you do get it, it’s a thrill, you can’t deny that.
“My daughter, as soon as she found out, she put it on Facebook to all the cousins, I had so many phone calls, we are a very close family.
“I felt very privileged to receive the award but we do these things because we enjoy doing them, not to get awards. But when you get an award you feel like you’ve done everything right.”
Living independently on the same land just behind her daughter’s house, Ms Hanratty says it’s the social interactions that is worthwhile, nothing else.
She considers herself “one of the luckiest people”.
“I love what I’m doing, I love being able to talk to people, to think I’m helping somebody somewhere.
“I enjoy every day. It makes me want to get out of bed (otherwise) I could become a very lazy old fool sitting at the couch.
“There are nationalities that you had never thought about or knew how they lived, for them to talk to you about their life, you can learn from them,” she says.
“Those people had not always been lucky as we are, it might be wealth, health. You don’t know these people until you speak with them.”
During the awards ceremony, Ms Hanratty simply congratulated a young award recipient. She was surprised when the young woman expressed her fondness towards Ms Hanratty and asked her for a photo.
“I didn’t even know her name, but she was so happy that someone outside her family spoke with her. Those are the things that make life worthwhile.”
Ms Hanratty also shared a very special bond with her twin, who passed away three years ago.
Her children and her twin’s children were always part of each other’s families, so close that they “didn’t want to part.”
