Congratulations Michelle Michelle Bordignon has been awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM). She is the mainstay for ‘Griffith Helping Hands’ and has been MADOW’s (Making A Difference Out West) partner for several years now. The clothing and goods from GPUC that are donated to MADOW are sent to ‘Griffith Helping Hands’ and it is Michelle who distributes these donations in Griffith and in the wider Riverina area. Michelle’s diplomacy and local knowledge allows her to be welcomed everywhere. Griffith Public School, Griffith Hospital, Meals on Wheels, Aged Care, seasonal workers on the farms, and families referred by Social Workers, all depend on Michelle for thoughtful gifts of clothing, household items, babies’ requirements and appropriate shelter during Griffith’s bleak and cold winter nights and hot summer days. Griffith Council has donated a massive storage container for Michelle’s work, which she cleans and maintains in both boiling hot weather and after rain which floods the bottom of the container and washes mud through. Michelle keeps communication going with the transport trucking company who provide a free service for our donations from Sydney to Griffith. Michelle and her husband, Alby, sort the donations and drive them to wherever they are needed, sometimes 100km away to Lake Cargelligo via Leeton. MADOW was able to have lunch with Michelle, Alby, her daughter Emma, and her sister Therese, the day before her investiture at Sydney’s Government House. Michelle is a delight—modest and genuinely happy to be able to help. Her hard work, tireless care, compassion, and effort to do what she sees needs to be done, are acknowledged by the awarding of the OAM. Well done, Michelle. Diane Willis, for MADOW.
