Your 2025 Westfield Chermside Local Hero is:

Jan Schutt

Stationery Aid Ltd

Creative. Positive. Understanding.

Jan’s innovative charity, Stationery Aid, collects, sorts, cleans, and renews used school stationery supplies destined for landfill, and gives them to disadvantaged children across Queensland, Australia and the Pacific. 

As a result, Jan’s impact is three-fold: he helps to improve the education outcomes for thousands of vulnerable children, he helps relieve poverty among families experiencing hardship, and he builds a more sustainable and resilient society. Jan is driven by the vision of a full circular economy of school stationery, as well as the personal moments, such as when a child is given a personalised pencil case to put their name on and cannot believe it is for them to keep. 

 He says, “These situations are real, through no fault of the child, and motivates me to help even more. When more than 96,000 school students in Queensland alone experience disadvantage, we have found a way to help by giving them the tools to learn equally like all other students.”  In four years, Stationery Aid has given educational materials and booklists to more than 2,700 children, with approximately 60 tonnes of usable school stationery supplies being diverted from landfill to make this happen. 

The work of Jan and fellow  volunteers including community partners, gives children the chance to thrive while building a safe and healthy environment for future generations. 

The $20,000 grant will be used to provide 300 students with the essential tools to learn for one year at school.

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We’d like to thank and acknowledge our finalists who will receive a $5K grant for the organisation they represent...

Madonna Hoelscher from Saint Vincent De Paul
Madonna volunteers daily to support vulnerable people in her community, including the homeless, elderly, and mentally and physical ill. Through her work with various charities, she helps ensure people in need have food, financial aid, and emotional support. Widely respected, she’s seen as a mother figure to many, always offering compassion and a helping hand.

Michael Andreotti from Community Canteen Co Ltd
Mike leads Community Canteen, a not-for-profit in based in Fortitude Valley that delivers more than 1100 meals fortnightly to those who are homeless or who live in temporary accommodation. Once homeless himself, Mike now works tirelessly to manage volunteers, secure supplies and kitchen facilities, and generate funding. He is relentless in finding solutions to help those in need.

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

Recognising all our 2025 nominees

View all of the Westfield Chermside nominees and their organisations.