We are excited to announce your three 2021 successful Westfield Local Heroes for Airport West.

Each of the affiliated organisations of the successful heroes will be awarded a $10,000 grant to support their work to thrive. Westfield will award 126 grants across Australia and New Zealand – totalling $1.26 million.

For further information or to discover the Westifield Local Heroes at other Westfield centres, visit the Westfield Local Heroes website.

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Your three Westfield Airport West Local Heroes are:

Ali Halkic

Bully Zero
Dedicated. Selfless. Determined

Ali Halkic has reached more than 500,000 people with his bullying prevention workshops since he set up his Bully Zero organisation. Ali has been combatting the dangers of bullying since his son Allem took his own life after being bullied by a former friend. He helps people understand the impact of their actions, even if they are just bystanders.

If you need support, please visit Bully Zero or phone Lifeline: 13 11 14

Find out more >

Alyshia Clarke

Dance 4 All
Passionate. Generous. Ambitious

Dance teacher Alyshia Clarke set up Dance 4 All to break down barriers for children with autism, who often feel excluded from social and sporting programs. Her all-abilities dance classes are a huge success, growing faster in popularity than her mainstream dance classes. Dancing helps the children’s physical, cognitive and social development.

Find out more >

Jocelyn Bignold OAM

McAuley Community Services for Women
Passionate. Innovative. Campaigner

Jocelyn Bignold OAM leads McAuley Community Services for Women, an organisation that helps more than one thousand women and children experiencing family violence and homelessness annually. Jocelyn is the driving force behind the non-profit, which operates a range of crisis to long-term accommodation, provides support and advocates for the women and children. McAuley was the first 24/7 crisis service in Victoria.

Find out more >

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We congratulate our finalists and recognise the important contribution they make to the local community.

Sandra Jacobs from The Nappy Collective

Sandra Jacobs is supporting the health and wellbeing of tens of thousands of vulnerable children through her Nappy Collective charity. The charity collects outgrown nappies from families and passes them on to parents who cannot afford enough nappies for their babies.

Kristen Mirchevski from Vision Australia

Social worker Kristen Mirchevski lost her vision in childhood and leapt at the chance to help others lead an independent and fulfilling life. Kristen is a long-time client of Vision Australia and knew she was in the perfect position to volunteer to help others cope with the loss of their eyesight.

Kyle Hayes from batyr

Brave Kyle Hayes is smashing the stigma around mental health as a lived experience speaker with for-purpose organisation batyr. He encourages people to reach out for help through face-to-face and online presentations.

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If you need support, please phone Lifeline: 13 11 14

Recognising all our 2021 nominees

View all of the Westfield Airport West nominees and their organisations