Wanju Marr Opens!
An eager crowd gathered today at King’s Park first purpose-built volunteer facility, to celebrate the opening of the building and the launch of the 2019 Kings Park Festival.
The Volunteer Hub, named Wanju Marr, meaning ‘welcoming hand’ was officially opened on Friday 30th August by Mr Patrick Gorman MP, Member for Perth and representatives from Lotterywest, who generously supported the construction of facility with a $2.4 million grant to the Friends of Kings Park.
Dr Richard Walley OAM led a moving smoking ceremony to cleanse the new building with volunteers and staff.
Wanju Marr represents an important step towards an exciting future for volunteering services in Kings Park. This facility will enable the Friends of Kings Park to eventually expand the number of volunteers it can accommodate and the range of meaningful roles they can sign up for.
Some volunteers will use it for their everyday tasks. Others will use it for meetings, training, special events and social activities. It is closely connected to the Botanic Garden depot, providing a close working environment with Kings Park staff.
But importantly, Wanju Marr isn’t just about Kings Park getting more out of volunteers – it is just as significant that the Park is giving back to its extraordinary teams of volunteers.
Mr Patrick Gorman MP, who spoke at the event, said the whole community benefited from the contributions of volunteers to Kings Park.
“By investing in our volunteers, we are investing in the future of Kings Park and the Western Australian community,” he said.