Cowra community leader Stassi Austin has been recognised as the 2025 Central West Young Volunteer of the Year, receiving the honour at the NSW Volunteer of the Year Awards ceremony held at the Orange Ex-Services Club.

The awards, hosted by The Centre for Volunteering, are now in their 19th year and celebrate the dedication of individuals and teams across New South Wales who contribute to their communities through unpaid service.

Winners from each region will go on to represent their areas at the state gala ceremony later this year.

For Ms Austin, the award came as a surprise.

“There were so many wonderful nominees there who have done so much work in their communities, and I was blown away by the caliber of young people,” Ms Austin said.

“We all know that young people often get a bad rap when it comes to volunteering, but 74% of young people in New South Wales actually volunteer their time in their communities.”

“So it was an honour to be nominated, first of all, but I was very humbled to actually win the award.”

Her disbelief carried over to the moment her name was announced.

“There was a lot of disbelief, I couldn’t quite believe that it was me that they were calling up there,” Ms Austin said.

“I’m just very humbled and very proud to represent Cowra.”

Ms Austin’s long list of commitments explains why her community impact is so widely recognised.

“Primarily, I’m the chair of the Country University Centre Cowra Region, and concurrently, also the chair of the Australian Youth Affairs Coalition, which is the peak body for young people in Australia,” Ms Austin said.

She is actively involved in the Breakout Association and serves as the youth liaison on both the CBD Committee and the Civic Centre Reference Group.

Ms Austin has been engaged with Rotary for several years and sits on the District 9705 RYLA committee, which runs the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards program.

She was the longest-serving member of the youth council, with six years of service, and previously served as the second female director on the Club Cowra board.

She also volunteers regularly with ITP Australia and New Zealand, the peak body for a rare disease she lives with.

As a board member of the Cowra Country Universities Centre, Ms Austin has helped grow the service to more than 200 students, with women making up 75% of enrolments.

She also played a role in establishing the anti-bullying campaign #ProjectUpstander, and continues to give Cowra’s young people a voice through her work with the Australian Youth Affairs Coalition.

Her philosophy on volunteering is deeply personal.

“Volunteers are the backbone of any community,” Ms Austin said.

“They fill the gap where full time work isn’t covered or services wouldn’t be provided.”

“I think it’s such an important part of a community, and it’s always been part of my philosophy,” she said.

She added that volunteering was also her pathway to belonging.

“I moved to Cowra 15 years ago, and the easiest way for me to learn more about the community and to meet new people and be integrated was to volunteer my time,” Ms Austin said.

“Through that, I’ve met so many wonderful people and had a chance to be involved in quite a lot of things, which has been great.”

With her win, Ms Austin will represent the Central West at the state awards gala in Sydney later this year.

But for her, the recognition is more about community than personal accolades.

“We don’t volunteer in order to receive recognition, you do it because it’s the right and one of the best things you can do” she said.

“But more than anything, it shows the enormous contribution young people are already making to New South Wales, and I’m just very proud to represent Cowra.”