VOLUNTEERS are critical to every community.
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Two very special volunteers were recently rewarded for their service.
Jan and Max Powditch were given life membership to Exeter Public School’s P and C during Education Week this year.
The couple who have never had children at the school, have been involved with the school since the mid-2000s.
Their relationship with the school first began when Max was president of the Exeter Village Association (EVA) from 2005-2008.
“I realised they were all old people in the village association. So I thought how do we get the school involved?” Max said.
The EVA established an annual carnival and as a result of that Jan and Max were asked to join the P and C.
One of the big achievements of the P and C during their time on the committee was establishing the annual ‘All Exeter Garage Sale’.
Apart from the P and C, the pair have also been involved in helping out at the school.
Jan has been involved with the MultiLit program where she helps children who struggle with reading and also runs a weekly art club.
Max has been involved in mentoring, is one of the school’s four ethics leaders and also looks after the fortnightly athletics interest group.
“It’s been a really lovely time for us,” Jan said.
While they will no longer be on the committee, Jan said they would always be on hand to help out.
“We’ll still volunteer when they need people to help out,” she said.
Last year the couple received a Director Public Schools NSW Award for outstanding contribution by a community member.
The Powditches have given countless hours of their time to help Exeter Public School, but Max said they were just two of many volunteers who helped make the school a better place.
“There’s people like us at every single school. Behind every school is a group of people that just want their school to be a bit better than it was last year,” he said.
Jan praised Exeter’s P and C committee for the hard work they had done over the past few years.
“The P and C is good because they think a lot about what the school needs,” she said.
“They supply all the playground things, the garden out here and put the kitchen in this year- whatever the school can’t get through school funding.”
Exeter Public School principal Andrew Barnes said the students were “blessed” to have Jan and Max involved with the school.