Congratulations to Robyn, Rosies Team Leader and Board member for taking part in the Queen’s Baton Relay !

Robyn has been involved with the marginalised all her life. She joined Rosies as a volunteer in 2005 and has continued to be involved on the Street outreach in Surfers Paradise as Team Leader. She was a Volunteer Trainer a the Gold Coast for seven years. Robyn was appointed to the Board of Rosies in 2009 and took on the role of Treasurer in 2011.

Robyn Hunt is carrying the baton on behalf of 1200 Rosies – Friends On The Street volunteers as baton bearer number 56.

Click on image to enlarge

WHEN Theresa Sheppard’s mother banned her from Schoolies week the enterprising 17-year-old came up with a parent-approved plan to go anyway — she would volunteer with her church’s outreach program. So began Mrs Sheppard’s 30-year involvement with community charity Rosie. “During our first two years of Rosies we’d made contact with quite a few homeless people during Schoolies,” Mrs Sheppard said. “When the time came to go we said, ‘Goodbye, see you
next year’ until someone said ‘But what are we going to do — what if we don’t survive until then?’,” Mrs Sheppard said. It wasn’t long before Rosies grew from its Gold Coast base and today 1200 volunteers help 2500 homeless people across Queensland every week. The Gold Coast remains by far the biggest program with 200 volunteers manning the drop-in centre on the corner of Hicks and Davenport streets, Southport, supplying thrice weekly brunches in Baden Powell Park and driving the vans six nights a week.

Mrs Sheppard, who is from Brisbane but has helped establish Rosies across the state as both a volunteer and staff member, said as one of the original crew she was proud of where the charity was today. “We have always been about keeping the issue of homelessness at the front of people’s minds, not hiding it.” While many of the volunteers are still drawn from the Catholic Church, people from all walks of life find themselves wearing the recognisable red shirt and sharing a cup of tea with a person in need.

General manager Andrew O’Brien said while the scale of Rosies had changed dramatically over the years, the ethos had not. “Our primary mission remains to connect with people and share a sense of community and friendship. People come to us to feel a bit better about themselves. We accept them for who they are and where they’re at in life.”
This weekend, Rosies will celebrate their 30th anniversary with a picnic attended by the charity’s patron, Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove. “My wife and I have supported Rosies for more than a decade, and have seen first hand Rosies’ army of volunteers making a difference on the streets and off the streets,” Sir Peter said.

Past and present volunteers and patrons of Rosies, and their families, are invited to the celebration. It will be held at Eileen Peters Park, Surfers Paradise, on Sunday, at 12.30-3.30pm.

EMILY MACDONALD

Courtesy of the Gold Coast Bulletin

Theresa Sheppard with Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett and other Rosies volunteers in 1992

Here are some of our Gold Coast volunteers receiving their certificates for long term service. Not all recipients were able to join us, but they were there in spirit!
The recipients have contributed nearly 500 years of service to Rosies. It was great to see Tom who recently retired from Rosies at age 91. Thank you doesn’t seem enough.

Ceremonies are being rolled out across all our branches during 2017.

It has been a ritual for the last 29 years. Rosies is the longest serving community organisation at the schoolies safety program. We collaborate with State Government and Gold Coast City Council’s comprehensive safety and support program to make Schoolies Week as safe as possible. About 50 Rosies volunteers have signed up to a renamed Schoolies Rest & Recharge Zone outreach. Our teams will be present each night until midnight over the week long celebration (19-25 November). Rosies will provide free mobile water supply while interacting and reassuring teenagers. Our volunteers are trained to respond to offer support, information and refer to other services if need be. The Rest and Recharge Zone is a place where teenagers can sit, relax, and recharge.

Rosies Rest & Recharge Schoolies outreach at Gold Coast Schoolies Week 19-25 Nov