Yesterday,  His Excellency General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK MC (Retd) joined Rosies volunteers at Surfers Paradise to  celebrate 30 years of Rosies Friends on the Street.

Sir Peter is Patron-in-Chief of Rosies and on a number of occasions has been on outreach with volunteers to share first-hand the friendship and hospitality this great organization provides to the marginalized.

“To mark 30 years since Rosies first started it seemed logical to celebrate where we first outreached, right here in Surfers Paradise” said Robyn Hunt. Robyn is a long-time Gold Coast volunteer, Board member and Honorary Treasurer. Robyn was vociferous in her praise of the Gold Coast community, “who have been incredibly generous and supportive for all those 30 years and it continues to grow each year.” Now 10 other communities across Queensland are following their lead.

The celebration will be relatively informal with a picnic in Eileen Peters Park, at the southern end of the Esplanade. One of the early youth volunteers, Theresa Sheppard is excited to catch up with old friends.  “Rosies has been integral to my life and to many friendships I have – I can’t wait to catch up at Surfers”. Theresa was made a life member in 2015.

“My wife and I have supported Rosies for more than a decade, and have seen firsthand Rosies army of volunteers making a difference on the streets and off the streets.” said Sir Peter.

Rosies started as a youth to youth outreach at Schoolies in 1987. After a couple of years it saw the need for friendship and hospitality among the homeless and other marginalized people. It has now expanded to 11 communities across Queensland with 1,200 volunteers happily going on the street to share friendship. Over 230 teams outreach each month on the street or in the courts or in the drop-in centre or prison.