General News
23 May, 2025
Volunteers at the market’s heart
After it reopened following the pandemic, the Avoca Riverside Market Committee’s expansion has resulted in a broad range of volunteers pitching in.
Avoca Riverside Market secretary Tony Wood said the market’s success is a testament to the volunteers that make the market possible.
“We reintroduced the market after COVID, back then we only had a small committee,” he said.
“We have had other volunteers come on board since to help us with set up, pack up or work during the market. Since the committee was so small, volunteers have been very important.”
Working alongside local community organisations and local primary schools, Mr Wood said the Avoca Riverside Market encom-passes volunteers of a wide range of ages.
“We have volunteers from 11-year old-kids, up to people well into their 70s, it really is a good mix,” he said.
“We had primary school students who helped out, they are in secondary school now and they still come back and help us.”
This variety allows for different volunteers to fulfil different tasks.
“We have kids at the entrance tables, we have a supervisor for the kids helping out, we have helpers liaising with store holders, everyone has their role in helping us,” Mr Wood said.
He has acknowledged the help of younger volunteers, and said they are important for ensuring the market will continue in the future.
“Like other towns, we need to get generational through-put, otherwise people that are older on the committee can’t go on forever,” Mr Wood said.
As the market has continued to grow, he said a vital part is the feedback between valuable volunteer contribution and the market supporting the community.
“Yes, it is about us getting volunteer assistance from the community, but we give back to the community and we try to get the community involved,” Mr Wood
said.
“The whole point of the Riverside Market is giving back to the community and providing an opportunity for store holders, patrons and community groups to come along, they are always welcome.
“We still have a small committee that consistently gets involved with the market, so we really couldn’t do it by ourselves, volunteers are very important for us.”
The Avoca Riverside Market will be on this Sunday, May 25 from 9 am until 1 pm.