Congratulations to Pauline OAM

Pauline Maniskas OAM of Wamberal  for service to the community of the Central Coast

Pauline Maniskas believes that disabled people should enjoy full inclusion and has had a 22-year association with Camp Breakaway, where she has been a Board Director since 2019.

“I started as a personal carer and then moved on to programming activities and organising campers,” she said.

“When the NDIS came in there was a lot of work and I’ve been there just about every day for the past three years.”

She is also a founding member and secretary of Central Coast Disabled Surfers Association of Australia, which started in 2005.

“I had never heard of the organisation but I swim in the ocean most days and I thought disabled people should be able to do that too,” she said.

Maniskas is at the group’s regular surf days and also travels to other branches to help out.

She has volunteered with Our Lady Star of the Sea, Terrigal, for 30 years and is also a volunteer with Youth Off the Streets. She said she was “dumbstruck” by the award and accepted it on behalf of every volunteer on the Coast.