Canberra Greats - Alan Jessop

Alan reaps ACT community service award

For the past 22 years, Alan Jessop has been a familiar face to locals passing through Canberra’s city centre. He spends three days a week sitting for many hours evangelising to locals and collecting money for The Salvation Army Canberra City Oasis Corps and Oasis Support Services.

These services include an alcohol and drug rehabilitation program and an education outreach program.

Alan’s faithful community service has now been recognised, with the 80-year-old winning the ACT Local Hero 2011 award.

With his nomination supported by The Canberra Times, Alan feels both honoured and surprised to have received this award.

“It’s been a long time coming, I have been nominated many times over the years. It was enough this time because The Canberra Times got behind me,” he said. 

“I was surprised [though] as there were many other people who deserved the award.”

Alan has been part of The Salvation Army most of his life, becoming a soldier at Wollongong Corps before moving north and being involved with Taree and Maitland corps.

Over the years he has had a number of occupations, including a tailor, plumber, gasfitter and dairy farmer. He has also owned a number of post offices.

It was only when he retired that he finally had the time to support the Army on a full-time basis.

Despite his age, Alan has no intention of stopping his charity work. He has “had a few setbacks”, including two heart attacks and prostate cancer, but said he would continue to collect three days a week for the Army “while [his] health is still going”.

This story first appeared in The Salvation Army’s Pipeline magazine