February 1
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 community group has been
supporting more than 3000 community
members. The work involves providing
English classes, mental support for the
vulnerable, especially victims of domestic
violence, legal support, including for domestic
violence victims, and interpreting and online
administrative assistance during the COVID
pandemic.
Ms Tran said the award was totally
unexpected.
“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.”
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.”
