This award is to recognise someone over the age of 55 who has made a significant contribution to the community on a voluntary basis.
The winner of the 2025 Senior Citizen of the year is John Roseworn
Stay tuned for 2026 nominations for the 2025 Senior Citizen of the Year!
John Roseworn
John Roseworn has been heading up the team of volunteer workers who hold Christmas Day Lunch for those lonely or less fortunate members of Blacktown and surrounding communities. An initial team member starting more than 20 years ago, John stepped up into the role of Chairman when the previous leaders moved on. The Mt Druitt Combined Churches Christmas Day lunch started out in the Church of Christ Hall in Mount Druitt, holding a lunch for just a couple of dozen people and John has overseen the growth of the event to more than 2 hundred people today. The Christmas lunch moved to the Holy Family Parish Hall over the past couple of years, planning for the event starts in August/September and John is fully involved with all aspects of the planning, meeting once a month at first and more often as the time progresses. Organising food pick-ups, organising gifts for everyone attending, working with volunteers John organises pick up of tables & chairs from surrounding church’s, all of the equipment and decorations needed from storage. John is the main contact for transporting our guests to and from the event. After the event, all the equipment on loan from various Churches, needs to be packed and returned. During Covid John and his team hand delivered more than 250 meals, working within covid guidelines and recommendations.
John is not only involved with Christmas Lunch, but he has also an active member of the Whalan Community Activities Group for more than decade. As a previous president of the group, John is pivotal in keeping this group active for the senior members of the Mt Druitt community. Weekly Craft groups for the ladies, woodworking for the men, exercise classes and bus trips once a month for everyone to attend. The social aspects of this group help many members connect weekly with the community to reduce isolation. John plays an important role within the group, as previous president he knows a lot of the history within the group, assists with booking buses, running errands and looking after finances. John also plays a pastoral care type role visiting members in hospital, taking members to doctors visits Nominee's details 1 of 2 The Whalan Community Activities Group work with the community and hold fundraisers for the Biggest Morning tea and the likes.