The Centre for Volunteering in NSW recognised Laura Hefill as the Young Volunteer of the Year for the South Coast region and although she is her own harshest critic, with the support of those close to her – she is rising above.

“It feels really good – I am really proud of myself for getting the award,” she said.

“I’ve had a couple of people in my life at the moment reminding me that it is a big deal.”

The Nowra 19-year-old was acknowledged with the award for her work with Sonder Youth and her own project 4 Me 4 You, and she shared the secret to her success with The Bugle.

“Basically Avalon [Sonder Youth’s founder and managing director] knows that she can ask me to do anything, and I’ll volunteer my time to do that and help wherever I can,” she said.

“I’ve had so many unique opportunities just from putting my hand up.

“I interviewed all our local government when it was the election, which meant that I was having these one-on-one conversations with all our local members.”

Avalon Bourne, who also lives in the Shoalhaven, told The Bugle that it is Laura’s capability that sets her apart.

“I think she is just so capable of finding common ground with people and often seeing through the façade that people put up,” Avalon said. 

“She finds a way to care about them no matter what they’re presenting.”

Avalon explained it was through Laura nominating Sonder Youth for the ABC Trailblazers program that Sonder Youth was invited by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to talk about its work.

“That was all because Laura had nominated us for this program and she was the reason that we [Sonder Youth] got there,” Avalon said.

When asked what it was like to meet the PM, Laura said: “I asked him if we could do a handshake with him that we do at Sonder which is called the ‘team curl’,” Laura said.

“He was so nice.”

Laura has also had the privilege of talking to NSW Minister for Youth Rose Jackson to advocate for greater funding for Sonder Youth camps.

“I’ve been lucky enough to be able to have those conversations with them and they are really impactful conversations,” she said.

“Everyone who I have spoken to [in parliament] feels like they are listening, and they are not seeing through you.”

Questioned where her drive comes from, Laura said she was inspired close to home.

“My dad is a single parent, so there is a really big drive in me to want to do big things to show my dad that all his success has come to something,” Laura said.

When asked what empathy means to her, Laura said it is important but it is something she has struggled with accepting from people because she felt others didn’t understand her situation.

“If you actually stand there and get to know them and have empathy for them, maybe they’re going through something at home that we are not seeing,” she said.

“And that is something that has really made me have a lot of empathy for other people in different circumstances around me.”

To learn more about how you can volunteer, head to https://www.nsw.gov.au/community-services/volunteering.