Presenting your 2021 Westfield Local Heroes

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

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 Hornsby Local Heroes are:

Grant Wargren

Hornsby/Ku-Ring-Gai Rural Fire Service
Dedicated. Cool-headed. Leader

Brave volunteer Grant Wargren has been fighting fires for 45 years. As a Group Captain of the Rural Fire Service in Hornsby, Grant repeatedly puts his life at risk on the frontline of disasters and helps local communities recover and rebuild after fires, storms and floods. He is available day and night to rush to the aid of accident victims on the M1.

Find out more >

Hylette Evans

Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Women's Shelter
Passionate. Courageous. Resilient

Compassionate Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Women’s Shelter manager Hylette Evens goes above and beyond to help women in crisis to find their feet after domestic violence or homelessness. Hylette has developed a strong network of volunteers and devotes herself to providing a safe place for women to gain the confidence and skills they need to live independently.

Find out more >

Steven Ralph

Maslow
Resilient. Optimistic. Inspiring

After suffering a complete spinal cord injury, Steve Ralph is on a mission to help people with paralysis or disability regain independence, choice, and control of their health and care. Steve founded Maslow, an app that helps people with disabilities work better with their supporters and therapists so they can spend more time living.

Find out more >

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

Dr J.R. Baker from Primary & Community Care Services
Dr J.R. Baker is committed to helping people recover from crisis and injury and supports people living with physical and mental disabilities. As CEO of the non-profit Primary & Community Care Services, J.R. leads a team of social workers, occupational therapists, psychologists, nurses and other healthcare professionals who help about 9000 people a year.

Jo Marx from It's About Us Ltd
Jo Marx is on a mission to improve the mental health and wellbeing of cancer patients and provides free support to hundreds of families. Jo is the founder of the charity It’s About Us and works tirelessly from her base on the upper North Shore to provide a warm, caring and supportive environment for people to connect.

Thomas Dent from StreetWork Australia Limited
Motivated by seeing young people achieve their dreams and turn their lives around, Thomas Dent has been helping to create a sense of community and inclusion for vulnerable young people for over 15 years. Tom supports and mentors youth caseworkers and volunteers at the charity StreetWork and helps connect them with services that can help them.

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

Recognising all our 2021 nominees

View all of the Westfield Hornsby nominees and their organisation