Awakenings Volunteer wins Award!

Awakenings recognition in the red centre
The spirit of Australia’s biggest Arts festival for people with all abilities reached the centre of Australia during a national awards ceremony.
Sarah McLean, 21, who has been a volunteer of Horsham’s Annual Awakenings Festival since she was a teenager, said she had ‘spread the word’ when she accepted her Regional Arts Victoria Volunteer Award in Alice Springs.
“Of course it’s a great thrill to win an award and feel good about yourself and the work you’ve done but the main thing is to spread the word about Awakenings,” she said.
Sarah, who has progressed through the Awakenings organising committee from helper, performer and trainee at 14 to the event’s marketing manager, won the awards’ Victorian youth category.
She flew to Alice Springs, in her first trip in an aeroplane, to accept her award at the Art at the Heart conference dinner.
“Awakenings is special. It doesn’t matter who you are. It’s a place where you can be seen for what you are and not what you’re not,” she said.
“At the conference I told everyone to try to get to Awakenings.”
The 13th annual Awakenings arts festival for people with all abilities is in Horsham in western Victoria from October 17 to 26.
The festival, which attracts national and international participants and audiences, will feature hundreds of community events.
Ms McLean, who with her partner Gavin McLean run a master-of-ceremonies training program as part of her festival involvement, also ‘dabbles’ in art and acting.
She said she would get quickly back into Awakenings preparations after returning from Alice Springs.
Festival Director Jacinda O’Sullivan said Ms McLean’s award was tremendous recognition and reflected the passion of volunteers involved with the festival.
“It’s great to have recognition at a national level. Sarah’s work is unique. Every time Sarah puts her hand up to do something she steps up. It’s pretty amazing,” she said.
“This is great recognition for people like Sarah who help make this wonderful festival work. We are so dependent on people giving their time and skills.”
Wimmera Uniting care launched Awakenings in 1996.