VOLUNTEERING is something that comes naturally to 66 year old Wangaratta retiree Mark Heaton.
Whether it's been raising funds for to find a cure for a disease, offering goods to the disadvantaged and homeless, or offering services of comfort to previously isolated elderly home residents, he has a passion to help his community.
"I grew up in a family that did volunteering and everything else, it wasn't anything special, I've just been able to volunteer in no matter what capacity whenever I've had time," he said.
As the new chairperson for Loaves and Fishes – Christians Caring (LF–CC), Mr Heaton is looking forward to continuing the generous legacy the local charitable service provides to the community.
Elected at the recent LF–CC annual general meeting, Mr Heaton has been at LF–CC since 2019, and started work as the assistant pantry manager to David Price at the start of this year.
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Mr Heaton said in his near 30 year experience in volunteering, he's never taken on a volunteer role of this magnitude before.
"I've always wanted to give back to the community and I think this is just another way of being able to do that," he said.
Born in England, Mr Heaton spent most of his time in Western Australia and Queensland after his family immigrated to Australia when he was young, working in various roles at the crop science division of global research company Bayer.
As a part of his role at Bayer he regularly travelled internationally, mostly to attend meetings in the Asia Pacific.
But Mr Heaton always had a special bond with the North East, where he had met his wife some 40 years ago.
"We've always had a soft spot for this area and had visited it many times," he said.
"So when we came back from Europe we decided to settle here a few years ago and I approached the volunteer centre and asked what volunteer roles were available and that's when they put me onto Loaves and Fishes."
His induction to the community was a unique experience, only living in the area six months before the COVID–19 pandemic hit.
Mr Heaton said working through COVID–19 and being able to provide a sense of relief to people in need was a tough, but extremely satisfying experience.
"Being able to offer a service like a food pantry where people didn't necessarily have to mingle with large groups where we were told not to, it was certainly a help and a lot of people were very thankful for it," he said.
"It wasn't a big thing, but it was the fact that it provided an anchor to people and people knew there were others out there helping them."
Mr Heaton said he is striving to continue the hard work of long–time chairperson Ron Webb, who had been in the role on a temporary basis since March.
"Firstly, I want to be able to be a go–to point for people within the community so if we can't directly help them, we can direct them to other services that can improve their lives," he said.
"I've previously only ever lived in a city...in country areas they are a lot more community orientated and a lot more caring about their community, whereas in the city you can get lost in the numbers.
"So I'm certainly excited about taking on the role and I'm just hoping that I'll be able to make some meaningful contributions."
HERE TO HELP
LOAVES and Fishes – Christians Caring (LF–CC) is a Wangaratta emergency relief charity made up of 11 member churches including Holy Trinity Cathedral, Parish of Wangaratta West and Warby's, Wangaratta Baptist Church, Victory Church, Wangaratta Lutheran Church Wangaratta, The Salvation Army Wangaratta, Uniting Church Wangaratta Parish, Enjoy Church, Wangaratta Wesleyan Methodist Church and the Wangaratta Presbyterian Church.
LF–CC assisted just over 3200 individuals in the past year, with a total value of $131,625 worth of emergency assistance to the community.
Anyone seeking further information on emergency relief or becoming a volunteer with LF–CC can contact the Anglicare Victoria office on 5723 7900.
