Volunteers are the building blocks of a community that thrives

Community Stories, 9 December 2020

Situated 55 km east of Adelaide is the small rural community of Mount Pleasant. Mount Pleasant acts as a hub for a range of nearby smaller towns including Springton, Eden Valley, Cromer, Birdwood, Palmer, Tungkillo, and Cambrai. The town contains services that cater for the region, such as a public library, a kindergarten and primary school, a hospital, supplies stores, and a post office.

Mount Pleasant is a thriving and innovative community, that holds local events that bring people together, like a monthly Community Dinner, the Annual Mount Pleasant Agricultural Show, and a weekly farmers market. The flourishing community hosts a number of local groups and service clubs and the region also encompasses a number of successful farming and agriculture small businesses.

Established in 2000, the Mount Pleasant Natural Resource Centre Inc (MPNRC) is an active local organisation that works to promote environmental awareness, sustainability and best-practice land management. The community centre provides a significant gathering and activity space and proactively seeks to generate increased visitation, economic opportunities, new jobs and a sense of community for Mt Pleasant residents.

The energy and enthusiasm of volunteers’ play are a big part in MPNRC’s success with nearly 60 active volunteers currently involved with the centre.

Wanting to foster this passion for community engagement, MPNRC realised that their workspace needed a revamp so that it could be bigger, brighter and more inviting, increasing the workshop capacity and volunteer workspace to make it into a safer, all-weather environment.

With a $4,800 grant from the Small Grants for Rural Communities program, collaboratively funded by individual donors, and the enthusiastic assistance of volunteers, MPNRC’s refurbishment of The Share Shed (as the locals call it) saw the community and tradespeople join forces to weatherproof, install, refit, replace, repurpose the shared workspace.

The new space has had a positive ripple-effect throughout the community. The revamped Share Shed has hosted a number of community upcycling workshops, including school workshops, and Mount Pleasant’s inaugural Makers in the Garden Market. MPNRC’s fundraising sales have increased and the expanded volunteer space means the Centre’s volunteer numbers have increased and MPNRC been able to employ four additional staff members.

Sharing with FRRR just how impactful The Share Shed project has been for the Mount Pleasant community, Faye McGoldrick, MPNRC Coordinator expressed MPNRC’s gratitude and said: “Thankyou – this project means a lot to our volunteers and community. It is fantastic to find funding to expand and build on projects that enable us to increase our community support and engagement.”

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Amy Crawford

Amy Crawford has an extensive career in complex public policy and its intersection across government and communities.

Amy is the Chief Executive Officer at the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA), representing 537 councils across the nation. Amy holds over 20 years’ experience in the Australian Public Service. She has a deep understanding of federal government policies and structures, with over 10 years’ service in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and has worked for the federal Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories. Amy has shaped a wide range of policies and programs including regional development, telecommunications, immigration, emergency management, social policy and pandemic preparation.

Amy is a Board Director of Austroads and represents ALGA on the Public Skills Australia Industry Advisory Group, and the Australia-New Zealand Emergency Management Committee. She is also a Board Director for the Canberra Youth Theatre which provides voice for Canberra’s youth through intelligent and challenging theatre.

Amy holds a Bachelor of Laws (honours) and Bachelor of Arts (Media and Communications) from the University of Queensland, is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and an alumnus of the Cranlana Centre for Ethical Leadership. Amy was appointed to the FRRR Board in January 2025.

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Kylie Hansen

Kylie brings leadership and management experience from across academic, corporate, not-for-profit, social enterprise and impact investment sectors, having deep dived into a myriad of specialisations and systems. Her six tertiary qualifications are equally as diverse and complimentary, covering commerce, politics, international development, community development, project management and law. Her breadth and depth of experience enables her to draw on a number of disciplines and innovative ways of working and thinking, and she is well recognised as consistently delivering work and services of a high quality.

Kylie uses her strong background in sustainability, governance and impact measurement to support collaborative initiatives across sectors oriented at improving social outcomes, and to support socially conscientious businesses to articulate their social impact. As founder and director at Impact Seed she has been instrumental in developing the impact measurement, evaluation, learning and ESG practice which advises numerous corporates, and is passionate about supporting First Nations empowerment particularly in the context of regional economic development.

Kylie is also a Director of the WA Social Enterprise Council, a member of the B Council (B Lab Australia and New Zealand), and a Governor of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

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Hon. John Anderson AC

The Hon. John Anderson AC is a sixth-generation farmer and grazier from NSW, who served in the Australian Parliament from 1989 to 2008.

He was a senior Cabinet minister in the government led by John Howard (1996 to 2005), including six years as Leader of the National Party and Deputy Prime Minister.

In the latter role, Mr Anderson played in important role in FRRR’s history, working closely with Baillieu Myer AC and others on a proposal to establish a philanthropic organisation to benefit rural Australia. The concept was discussed at the National Regional Summit in 1999 and FRRR was established shortly thereafter.

Mr Anderson currently hosts a regular podcast, where he is in conversation with thought-leaders from around the world, and is a regular media commentator.

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Regina Cruickshank

Partnerships Specialist (WA)

Regina supports FRRR as the WA Partnerships Specialist. With over two decades of experience in partnerships and marketing, she has a deep understanding of Western Australia’s social impact landscape. She brings a strong passion for leveraging purpose-built networks to create positive change.

Regina previously worked with Playgroup WA and founded a Health Promotion Charity dedicated to supporting Social Emotional wellbeing for underserved communities. She’s excited about the opportunity to connect with partners and explore ways to make a meaningful difference in WA.

She lives in Perth with her family and enjoys mindful moments of connection to Country, whether on horseback, on foot or underwater.

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Anna Palmer

People and Culture Manager

Based in Central Victoria, Anna is a senior Human Resources, Organisation Development and Industrial Relations professional, with significant private and public sector experience across every facet of people and culture leadership.

Her most recent roles have been with Don KR in Castlemaine and Mount Alexander Shire Council. She has also held senior HR roles with Victoria Legal Aid and the TAC among many others.

From Mildura originally, Anna has postgraduate qualifications in Change Management and a Masters in Organisation Dynamics.

Anna is currently completing a Bachelor of Fine Arts to balance her creative pursuits and work as an HR professional.

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Philippa Twaddle

Management Accountant

Carolyn joined the FRRR team in March 2017, and is responsible for providing executive support to the CEO, effective coordination of the FRRR office and general administrative support to the management team. A key responsibility is supporting the administration of FRRR’s Donation Account Services.

She has over fifteen years’ experience working in local government in the Tourism and Arts Sector, Civic and Event Management and Community engagement.

Carolyn has a Bachelor of Arts in Librarianship, majoring in psychology, and grew up on farming communities in Cohuna and Echuca and currently lives in Bendigo.