Tara Murray
Two Brimbank community leaders have been named joint Brimbank citizen of the year.
Marion DeLeon and Tara Tran were named the winners of Brimbank council’s top honour as a ceremony on Australia Day.
Mr DeLeon, who is the president of the Filipino Community Council of Victoria, has worked to lead transformational services for the Filipino-Australian and wider community.
His vision is to build a strong Filipino-Australian community in Victoria.
Mr DeLeon has led the organisation to provide essential support for the Filipino-Australian community.
This included social, wellbeing, economic and cultural support for the community, which is especially important during the ongoing pandemic situation.
He is also a digital mentor and helps provide emergency response help through the Victorian Council of Social Services.
Mr DeLeon’s achievements in the area of community services have secured $114 million worth of grants, for a range of projects to benefit the community. This includes funding for emergency food relief, for support to international students, for training and capacity building programs and to support digital learning for people aged 50 and above.
Mr DeLeon said that once you start getting involved in the community, you just naturally keep getting involved.
He said he accidentally got involved in volunteering, and now his heart belongs to the community.
“It’s addictive and you don’t realise you are doing so much,” he said.
“It feels surreal, I didn’t expect this.
“This really reflects on how it is to become an Australian and be involved in so many community events.
“This recognises the hard work we’ve done in the community.”
When the pandemic started, Ms Tran and a group of friends started Vietlove, which is now one of the biggest non-profit community organisations in Brimbank.
The VietLove not-for-profit community group has been supporting more than three thousand community members. The work involves providing English classes, mental support for the vulnerable especially victims of domestic violence, and legal support including for domestic violence victims, and interpreting and online administrative assistance during the COVID pandemic.
Ms Tran said this award was totally unexpected. She said there had been massive support for the organisation as it continued to grow.
“It’s very valuable to me when I’m doing this work,” she said. “When the community came [needing help] we just did what we could, I couldn’t expect it to be so big.
“We have 20,000 supporters and followers of the group now.”
Ms Tran said one of the major things they were looking to achieve, was ensuring that everyone had equal rights in their workplace and across the country.
She said they were willing to help anyone who needed it.
“This award is not just for me the whole community. For Australia, Brimbank City Council and any other person who had supported me.”
It’s set to be a busy few months for Ms Tran, who is set to run as an independent for the senate at the federal election.
Brimbank mayor Jasmine Nguyen congratulated all the winners.
“I would also like to congratulate all of the nominees for their contributions to our great city, and to thank them for their commitment and valued work in the community.
“These awards are an opportunity for us as a community to celebrate the individuals who, through their outstanding efforts, help strengthen the Brimbank community.”
