Local foster parent, Silvana Lofaro, was named Citizen of the Year at Camden Council’s annual Australia Day Awards on Tuesday this week.

Ms Lofaro has fostered more than 25 children from south west Sydney over the past five years, while also heading the Harrington Park local playgroup Pixies and Munchkins.

Ms Lofaro, who has 14-year-old triplets of her own, said she started volunteering to help children after a career in children services.

“My husband, Frank, is American and we moved back to Australia about 11 years ago when I started working for Save the Children,” she said.

“That is where I saw the destruction of young people’s lives and what youth, who were juvenile offenders, went through and it broke my heart.

“In my job I helped set up programs for kids but the reason I left my job to volunteer and do this for children is because I thought this was a way in which I can help at an earlier point in a child’s life.

“So many children in this position have kids of their own and they go from foster home to foster home and they have explained how hard it is for them. This way I can create a stable home and help stop the cycle.”

Ms Lofaro, who currently has two foster children in her care, was shocked and honoured to be named Camden Citizen of the Year and thanked her extended family for their support along the way.

“Everything I do is because I have always wanted to help kids – children are my weakness and anything I can do to help them, I will do,” she said.

“Even my own kids support and have learnt so much from these experiences. Our family motto is ‘blood has nothing to do with it, family is family.

“I wouldn’t be able to do this without the diverse, multicultural, huge family I have, and I thank them for everything they do for me.

“I will continue to help wherever I can and when my kids are old enough, I will still go back to working in children’s services.”

Other Camden Australia Day Award winners included:

Young Citizen of the Year – Madison Sillett

Seven-year-old Madison Sillett has never let her numerous chronic health issues including ITP, Tourette’s Syndrome and Gastrointestinal Disease hold her back, not even from starting her own baking business Flaky Bakery Neenish Tarts last year. Madison and her mother regularly donate their signature Neenish tarts to those in need and as random acts of kindness to strangers. She is also a three-time best-selling co-author of a series of books written by children aged 5-17 years all over the world, published by the Child Author Project.

Community Group Award – Shining Stars Foundation

Shining Stars Foundation operates across 12 services across south west Sydney including Narellan and Oran Park on a volunteer basis. Over the past five years the foundation has facilitated and coordinated over 95,000 meals and thousands of emergency food hampers, hundreds of street emergency homeless bags that have gone out to the local Liverpool, Macarthur/Camden/Wollondilly communities.

Arts and Cultural Award Winner - Heather Bieman

Heather Bieman has committed herself to the support and tuition of others as they seek to develop and express their love of music. The accomplished pianist has done so as a school teacher, choir leader, accompanist, tutor, mentor and Director of AGAPE – a community based not-for-profit providing musical tuition across a range of disciplines. For over 30 years, Heather personally coordinated the gathering of a combined school’s choir for the annual Camden community carols event, raising money for Careflight and other charities.