Leanne Walding is a Lithgow name synonymous with community services.
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She has worked in the industry for decades.
Her time in the industry includes working for Skillshare. The program was responsible for beautifying Lake Pillans to be the tourist attraction it is today.
"I've always been community minded. My whole process of works been through from Skillshare days back in the early 90s, through to employment services across all programs, state and federal, and then into disability work as well," she said.
"But now back to just general community so I can support everyone across the community."
Today, Leanne is a community capacity builder with Lithgow Information Neighbourhood Centre.
"The community builders program we work with the whole community. It's from beginning of life to end of life projects. We do many projects, but we base it on community need, the community we consulted, and what they feel they need for them," she said.
"Given post bushfire and pandemic, all those things started to change. So we started well being and connection programs to bring people out of COVID.
"Another big aspect of us is our food rescue the food insecurity rate here and it gets quite high, given our SEIFA rating is dropping even now."
SEIFA is a Socio-Economic Index score that is uses information about people and households in a particular area.
Leanne is Lithgow born and raised. Then she raised a family of her own.
Leanne works incredibly hard, despite struggling with her health.
Being diagnosed with Multiple sclerosis (MS) has changed the way Leanne is able to deliver her work.
"I've got MS. It actually limits my physical capacity to do things. The brain's going 'do this,' But the body's gone 'No, you can't do that.' So that slowed me down. I get really frustrated with that," She said.
"So that's a struggle for me; to get frustrated. You know, with that, and being community orientated."
Leanne's ability to persevere despite MS is astonishing.
Her ability to make things happen within the community is proof that her heart is more powerful than her limits.
Due to her MS, Leanne had to work from home and take a step back from her usual food rescue duties to reduce her risk of contracting COVID-19.
"[The pandemic] changed a lot of things. What didn't change was our food rescue per se, because it was a necessary service. But did change the fact that I wasn't involved with it. I had to rely on others to get that done. Even though I was directing it behind a computer, she said.
"On the ground, it was still people going out delivering hampers and doing what they had to do during that time."
Leanne praises Lithgow as a town that offers equal opportunities.
"[I love] being a woman in Lithgow and the fact you can get in there and do what anybody else can do in the community. It's not a community where it's men, only women only, it's across, you've got the capacity to work in any environment, which has been really good," she said.
Leanne encourages other women of the community to take a chance on their aspirations.
"Just get out there have a go, the world is yours. There's plenty of opportunity here,' she said.
"Whether it be going into a volunteer pathway to start with, or if you're looking for employment or education; there's so much available now. Distance as well as face to face. Now face to face is slowly coming back. Just go for it."
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Reidun Berntsen
Reidun is a Journalist and writer who lives in a country town 3 hours from Sydney, Australia. From a young age, Reidun has been in love with words and the infinite possibilities they bring. Stories, features and poems have been a major part of her writing career.
Reidun is a Journalist and writer who lives in a country town 3 hours from Sydney, Australia. From a young age, Reidun has been in love with words and the infinite possibilities they bring. Stories, features and poems have been a major part of her writing career.
