Presenting your 2021 Westfield Local Heroes

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

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.

Your three Westfield Booragoon Local Heroes are:

Joanilia Chaperon

SecondBite WA
Positive. Giving. Energetic

Joanilia (Joan) Chaperon can be found at SecondBite WA every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 6am preparing expertly presented hampers of rescued food for thousands of people in need. Her work ensures perfectly good fresh food is diverted from landfill to people who might otherwise go hungry. Joanilia has been an enthusiastic volunteer and advocate for the charity since she heard about it on the radio around the time of her retirement.

Find out more >

Josh Langley

Children's Tumour Foundation
Inspiring. Innovative. Kind

Award-winning children’s author Josh Langley has given his time over the past three years to spread a message of hope and self-acceptance to young people living with the uncertainty that comes with a neurofibromatosis (NF) diagnosis. Anxiety and depression are common among children with NF, which is something close to Josh’s heart. His experience with mental illness is the basis for his popular Being You is Enough book series for kids.

Find out more >

Karen O'Connor

Cycling Without Age Australia
Passionate. Generous. Committed

Karen O’Connor is giving dozens of local people who can no longer cycle an opportunity to enjoy the outdoors and the feeling of the wind in their hair on electric tricycles ridden by volunteers. She gave up work for more than a year to introduce her charity, Cycling Without Age, to her community. Today there are seven chapters in WA and several more in other states.

Find out more >

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

Curtis Novacsek from Edmund Rice Camps for Kids WA
Curtis Novacsek is a patient and kind mentor at Edmund Rice Camps for Kids, where he encourages hundreds of at-risk children to be themselves and just be kids away from their everyday stressors. While most volunteer mentors complete 30 camps, Curtis has completed 60 and is up for more.

Dr Kaine Grigg from MyLocalMind Inc.
Clinical psychologist Dr Kaine Grigg provides free evidence-based mental health support to more than 1,000 people in Fremantle and surrounds. His non-profit, MyLocalMind Inc, offers 10 youth and adult group sessions a week. These include mindfulness, yoga, group fitness and more traditional talk-based group therapy.

Simone Blom from Coogee Beach Surf Life Saving Club
Simone Blom is giving local children with disabilities the chance to learn crucial beach skills by introducing Starfish Nippers to the Coogee Beach Surf Life Saving Club. The program provides one-to-one support to enable children to participate in beach and water activities like flag races, swimming and board paddling in a way that is appropriate to their age and abilities.

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