Three everyday heroes have taken this year’s Westfield Local Heroes program as nominated by the City of Casey community.
Westfield Fountain Gate will award $10,000 grants apiece to three winners from each organisation on August 13.
The winners were Sukhwinder Kaur from Sikh Volunteers Australia, Leanne Petrides of Cranbourne Information and Support Service (CISS) and Sylvia Ryan of Berwick Secondary College.
The grants will be put towards their community initiative within their organisation.
The Westfield Local Heroes program recognises individuals whose work promotes social wellbeing and harmony across family, youth opportunity and inclusion.
Ms Kaur spends about 16 hours a week, cooking meals for the hungry, delivering it to them every Wednesday and Saturday.
“Charity work is all part of the Sikh faith,” she says. The Sikh Volunteers will use the grant to fund the training of new volunteers and to buy new cooking appliances.
As the director of CISS for 20 years, Ms Petrides has spent countless hours advocating on behalf of her clients, many of whom are poverty stricken or escaping domestic violence.
The service will use its grant to extend its practical help beyond petrol and food vouchers.
Leanne says the money will help the service look at people’s situations in a more holistic way and “make a difference, not just put a band-aid on it”.
Berwick Secondary College will use its grant to fund a coffee-cart business for students at risk of leaving school.
Ms Ryan found her passion for volunteer work at age 15, when she was encouraged by her mother to find community work and began helping at an aged-care facility.
“I just loved it and started looking at how I could pursue it as a degree,” she said.
Sylvia then became a social worker and is now part of the student support team at Berwick Secondary College, where around a quarter of students come from homes where there is violence.
Westfield Fountain Gate Centre Manager Cathy Main said: “We are thrilled to honour these deserving community members as our Westfield Local Heroes and to support the incredible work they have been doing for our community.”
“It’s incredible to see all the work that our community members are doing to support the people of Casey and we hope to see their initiatives continue to benefit the local area and assist those in need,” she said.
