Presenting your 2021 Westfield Local Heroes

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

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 Geelong Local Heroes are:

Andy Brittain

Geelong Youth Engagement
Committed. Encouraging. Accepting

Andy Brittain has helped many at-risk high school students turn their lives around through an intensive one-year personal and physical development program he developed while being a police officer. The program is run by Geelong Youth Engagement and is phenomenally successful in boosting the participants’ confidence and improving their attitude to life. Andy is often contacted by program graduates eager to share their subsequent achievements as young adults.

Find out more >

Anthony Woodbury

Feed Me Bellarine
Passionate. Wild. Risky

Successful chef Anthony Woodbury co-founded Feed Me Bellarine two years ago to provide meals to families doing it tough, using his skills to create gourmet offerings. His charity feeds about 700 families a week. It also runs a fresh produce supermarket and café where customers pay what they can.

Find out more >

Claire Faulmann

OneCare Geelong
Passionate. Dedicated. Empowering

Claire Faulmann was thrown in the deep end when she became CEO of OneCare just as the COVID-19 pandemic hit. While other community services were temporarily closing their doors, her non-profit was ramping up support. It provided 500 meals a week and 1.5 tons of groceries to families in need. At the same time, Claire moved its counselling program online.

Find out more >

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

Barb Speldewinde from Fight Cancer Foundation
Barb Speldewinde has volunteered with the Fight Cancer Foundation for twenty years, putting her hand up as a thank you for the life-saving treatment her son-in-law received for leukaemia. She manages the foundation’s Geelong Recycle Shop, which funds accommodation for families who must travel to Melbourne for specialist treatment.

Bronwyn Haskell from Peace of Mind Foundation
Big-hearted Bronwyn Haskell has helped over 235 families deal with a devastating brain cancer diagnosis as a volunteer with the Peace of Mind Foundation. Her partner passed away from brain cancer, and she uses her lived experience to lead online and face-to-face support groups.

Jennifer Chiu from Eat Up
Volunteer Jennifer Chiu is a local branch leader for the charity Eat Up and helps make thousands of healthy sandwiches for marginalised children who would otherwise go hungry at school. Over the last four years, her team have delivered over 6000 healthy school lunches to students at six schools.

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