25 Jan, 2017

Adelaide's Citizens of the Year Awarded for 2017

A tireless advocate for homeless people and a young businessman with a passion for charitable works have been honoured as the City of Adelaide’s 2017 Citizens of the Year.

Lord Mayor Martin Haese presented the Citizen of the Year award to Wendy Malycha and Young Citizen of the Year award to Todd Sloan at the Adelaide Town Hall today.

The Awards were announced in conjunction with the Lord Mayor’s citizenship ceremony held on the eve of Australia Day, where 53 people aged between six and seventy from 21 countries were presented with their Australian citizenship.

Ms Malycha is the CEO of St John’s Youth Service, a founding member of Homelessness SA and a life member of the SA Council of Social Service.

The Lord Mayor said, “For the past 25 years Wendy Malycha has been a driving force in the provision of services, support and advocacy for young homeless people.

“She has championed the development of Youth 110, a progressive emergency youth shelter in the Adelaide CBD; Next Step, an innovative non-government funded program which supports young homeless people into private rental accommodation; and the Ladder St Vincent Street Program based in Port Adelaide.”

Todd Sloan received the Young Citizen of the Year Award for his ongoing commitment to charity and community work, despite suffering a serious workplace injury early on that forced him to change careers.

The Lord Mayor said, “Todd is clearly someone who puts others before his own interests. One of his major fundraising projects involved taking a million steps - walking all the way from Adelaide to Melbourne to raise money for CanTeen.”

The Community Event of the Year Award went to the Ebenezer Night Markets.

Now in its sixth season, the Markets are an initiative of the East End Coordination Group. Conducted over 10 separate summer nights, they comprise 50 stalls featuring more than 100 local artisans, craftspeople and street food sellers.

The Lord Mayor said, “The Ebenezer Night Markets have brought greater activity, business and vibrancy to the East End of Adelaide. They have also given many young artists the opportunity to not only pursue their passions but take their first steps as entrepreneurs and business people.

“Congratulations to Wendy, Todd and the East End Coordination Group for these deserved awards. On behalf of Council, I commend them for their contribution to improving the quality, and variety, of life in Adelaide.
“I’d also like to congratulate and welcome all of our new Australian citizens who have today pledged their commitment to our nation.”

Simon Latimer