Published: 2 January 2012

Top award: Councillor for Central Ward David Hinchliffe presents Centacare Hands Up and Day client Maddie McDade with the Harry Cusack Award for her community work. With her is HAND Respite Centre manager Karen Martin (back) and peer support volunteer Kylie Deane

A year of hard work and accomplishment by clients of Centacare's Hands Up and Day (HAND) Respite Program were rewarded at the O'Shea Centre, Wilston, in December.

HAND is part of Centacare's Learning and Leisure Services based at Wilston and Everton Park, which provide a range of centre and community-based services to persons with a disability who have left school.

Client Maddie McDade, 24, won the Harry Cusack Award for her community work, which included volunteering in literacy and numeracy at Southbank TAFE, where she had once been a student.

In living up to the spirit of the award, Maddie had moved out of her comfort zone throughout the year and achieved a number of other personal and community goals.

Auslan signing skills she has learnt at HAND are being used to welcome attendees to HAND events and in her tutoring work at TAFE.

Maddie is also a long-term volunteer at Wheeler Gardens, Chermside, where she assists elderly residents to access the community.

HAND's top award honours the memory of past client Harry Cusack, who lived life with the goal of always achieving something new.

During the awards program clients were presented with certificates of achievement; parents, carers and friends were thanked for their support; and everyone treated to a slideshow presentation of 2011 HAND highlights.

Learning and Leisure Services is part of Centacare Disability Services. For more information phone (07) 3856 0281.