By CASEY NEILL
PASTOR Don Cameron sewed a prevailing hope into the Dandenong community.
“That hope continues in a lot of people. He showed them that there is something bigger.”
These words from Shane Varcoe, Don’s friend of more than 10 years, joined an outpouring of grief and gratitude following the Cornerstone Contact Centre co-ordinator’s shock passing on Sunday 13 March.
His death at age 45 came just a month after doctors found fast-spreading cancers throughout his body.
“Both him and I are Christians and very strong in our faith,” Mr Varcoe said.
“It informed our heart for the community and our heart for people.
“This was not a job for Don.
“This was a mission and one that was about people.”
Don devoted 25 years of his life to Cornerstone, becoming involved before the Dandenong outreach service even opened its doors.
“It wasn’t really an organisation. It was a movement,” Mr Varcoe said.
“It continually evolved. It always was inclusive.
“That’s the beauty about what Don’s done, is that it doesn’t end with Don.
“The hope has been instilled not just in the people, but in the process.”
Former Cornerstone co-ordinator Pastor Max Walker remembers meeting a 20-year-old Don.
“I saw tremendous potential in him,” he said.
“I mentored him and fostered him up until I left Cornerstone in 2010.
“I earmarked him for the takeover when I left and he lived up to every expectation that I had.
“He had a real empathy for people. He always went the extra mile for them.
“He visited people in jail that no one else would go and see.”
Mr Walker said Don mentored many teenagers, some who were now Cornerstone volunteers.
“Anybody who came through the door, it didn’t matter what state they were in, he treated them with respect,” he said.
“I’m proud to be his friend and mentor.”
He said Don also had a mischievous sense of humour and was a good practical joker.
“We’ll miss his smile, his sense of humour, his love for the people of Dandenong,” he said.
The Cornerstone board said that Don invested his life in others and his legacy was profound.
The man likely to step into the co-ordinator role, Pastor Michael Eggleton, said Don was full of love and compassion.
“His example remains for all of us,” he said.
“He was always looking out for the homeless, for the needy, and was always ready to help them.”
The City of Casey and City of Greater Dandenong each paused for a minute during their Tuesday 15 March council meetings to reflect on Don’s contribution to the community.
Cr Jim Memeti said his endeavours to provide swags to the homeless must have saved many lives.
Cr John Kelly has looked after the plumbing at Cornerstone for several years and said Don was “a beautiful man”.
“We’re lucky that we had this man within our city,” he said.
Cr Matthew Kirwan said: “If only we could achieve so much in our lifetimes as he achieved in a short 45 years.”
Dandenong MP Gabrielle Williams said Don’s smile said it all – positive, caring and reassuring.
“He maintained those qualities even as he confronted the seriousness of his illness,” she said.
“I enjoyed a few Facebook exchanges with him last week and he was positive – positive about the future of Cornerstone and upbeat about his own journey.”
Cards to Don’s wife, Jo, and two daughters can be sent to Cornerstone Contact Centre, PO Box 358, Dandenong, Victoria, 3175.
A memorial service to celebrate Don’s life will be held at Faith Christian Church, 307 Gladstone Road, Dandenong North, at 2pm on Wednesday 23 March.
