A Dedicated Volunteer
John Fillery - the new ambassador for volunteering in the ACT
Nominated in the Community category by Communities @ Work
John Fillery has been volunteering for nearly twenty years and uses his practical skills to great advantage for the community.
John has a strong drive to make toys for disadvantaged children. John recycles scrap timber to make toys which he paints colourfully.
From an early age, because of personal experiences, John committed himself to the dream of one day making toys for disadvantaged children. He has fulfilled that vision.
For twenty years, John has been applying his practical skills in woodworking, generously donating 100 carefully built toys to charities every year. He donates to hospitals in Canberra and Sydney and also charities such as Barnados, St Vincent de Paul, Smith Family, Salvation Army and Marymead.
His idea is to give some joy and comfort to children who may be living in unfamiliar environments and to provide a measure of support for families who are under stress.
John applies his practical skills also in his current volunteer work with Handy Help (for the past nine years), and Communities @ Work (two years). In his work with these organisations he does a range of handyman jobs using his woodworking, welding, concreting, carpet laying and basic plumbing skills.
John and Beryl, his wife of thirty-five years, volunteer regularly for Meals on Wheels and deliver fruit to after-school care services, sometimes supplementing this supply with their own home-grown produce.
At seventy four years of age, and despite major surgery eight years ago, John dedicates approximately thirty-four hours a week to his toy making, his handyman activities and his other community work.