Your 2026 Westfield Helensvale Local Hero is:

Ben Harvey

Youngcare

Inclusive. Determined. Purposeful.

Ben Harvey has been awarded a $20,000 grant for their organisation, Youngcare.

Ben Harvey is helping build a more inclusive community by ensuring young people with high physical support needs are treated with dignity and have the chance to gain control over their lives. 

He does this through his work with Youngcare, an organisation dedicated to bringing choice, independence and dignity to young Australians living with complex and permanent physical disabilities.

Ben’s drive to help others is grounded in his own experience. Just a week before his 16th birthday in 2003, he sustained a spinal injury during a rugby league game that left him paralysed.

“Experiencing disability so young shaped my perspective and showed me the vital importance of support, accessibility and community understanding,” says Ben.

After appearing as a guest speaker at a Youngcare event two years ago, Ben recognised the difference he could make.

He now regularly speaks at schools and events to advocate for young people living with disability, and to help other students understand inclusion and empathy.

Ben explains, “Advocating for people with disabilities, particularly young people who often lack a voice in the systems that affect them, gives my work purpose.”

“I want to help create a future where people living with disabilities have greater independence, opportunity and choice than many of us experienced in the past. If sharing my story helps drive change, it is worth it.”

We'd like to thank and acknowledge our finalists who will receive a $5,000 grant for the organisation they represent

Isobelle Fawkes

Drug ARM

Selfless. Caring. Driven.

Through Drug ARM, Isobelle Fawkes helps people experiencing addiction take positive steps towards recovery. Her compassionate approach empowers people to rebuild confidence, strengthen relationships and reconnect with community life.

Theresa Mitchell

Agape Outreach Inc.

Compassionate. Visionary. Inspirational.

After rebuilding her own life following domestic violence as a single mum, Theresa Mitchell founded Agape Outreach to provide support for families in need across the northern Gold Coast. As psychologist and CEO, she leads an organisation providing meals, hampers, counselling and skills training to people experiencing homelessness and hardship.

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

Recognising all our 2026 nominees

View all of the Westfield Helensvale nominees and their organisations.

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2027 Nominations Now Open

Do you know someone making a difference in your community? Tell us in 200 words why they should be a Westfield Local Hero and they could receive a $20,000 grant for their organisation.

Find out more here

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Westfield Local Heroes: A Financial Review award-winning program

Since its inception in 2018, the Westfield Local Heroes program has granted over $11 million to over 1,000 community organisations. In recognition of the program and its social impact, Scentre Group (owner and operator of Westfield destinations in Australia and New Zealand) was recently named as this year’s winner of the Financial Review Sustainability Leaders in the Retail, hospitality, tourism and entertainment category. Read more about the award and the program’s impact here.