Liberal Member for Penrith Stuart Ayres, presenting the 2010 Local Carer Awards for Penrith, congratulated Penrith’s carers for the work and care they put into the Penrith community.
”I would particularly like to congratulate both the winner of the organisational award, the Penrith Alzheimer’s Carers Support Group, and the winner of the individual’s award, Ana Sastrias,” Mr Ayres said.
‘I said in my first speech in Parliament that if business was the backbone of the community, carers are its heart, particularly carers for children and adults with disabilities, and for the elderly and chronically ill. In what is an often exhausting and thankless role, hundreds of women and men support and look after mostly family members in a very personal and intense way.
”Thirteen percent of the NSW population are carers, and nearly two thirds of these carers combine caring with full-time work. Their contribution to the community is enormous, well beyond the significant financial savings.
”The Penrith recipients of the 2010 Local Carers Awards are a perfect illustration.
”The Penrith Alzheimer’s Carers Support Group, founded in 1987, has recently donated about $3,000 for the training and education of carers, and has donated $25,000 for research to the Alzheimer’s Association. All of this is on top of the work they do with and for carers on a daily basis.
”If the Penrith Alzheimer’s Carers Support Group is an example for organisations, Ana is equally representative of the dedicated individuals in the community who tirelessly spend their life caring for others. Ana is the primary carer for her husband, and she involves him in everything he does – which includes volunteering on local performing and visual arts committees.
”On behalf of the people of Penrith and the Lower Mountains, I congratulate these carers particularly, but also each and every carer in our community, and thank them for the difference they make in giving that community a heart.”
