Voting has now closed for Westfield Local Heroes

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

This year Westfield will award 126 grants across Australia and New Zealand totalling $1.25M. Now in its 7th year, the Westfield Local Heroes program will have contributed $8.6M to more than 860 successful Local Hero organisations since it began.

Voting has now closed and the Westfield Local Heroes will be announced 15 October.

Meet our Local Hero finalists

Ashley (Ash) Moon

City of Stirling Mens Shed

Genuine. Kind. Inclusive.

As a founding member of the Stirling Community Men's Shed, Ash Moon has dedicated 13 years to enhancing men's mental health and wellbeing. Ash maintains machinery and equipment, leads community projects and provides mentorship to newer members. The Men's Shed benefits more than 2,000 locals through its projects.

If Ash is successful in the community vote, he plans to develop an accessible community garden to enable people with disabilities to be involved in the Men's Shed. The garden will provide opportunities to develop new skills and raise revenue for the Men's Shed through the sale of produce.

Gareth Shanthikumar

MAN UP WA

Empathetic. Passionate. Visionary.

Gareth Shanthikumar, co-founder of MAN UP WA, wants to inspire young men to live authentically, embrace vulnerability, and hold one another accountable. His workshops with high school students cover mental health, resilience, consent and gender-based violence. Gareth provides subsidies to low socioeconomic schools and has helped more than 7,000 students so far.

If Gareth is successful in the community vote, he will be able to reach a greater number of vulnerable young men in low socioeconomic areas. The grant would provide 50 fully subsidised workshops to low-socioeconomic schools.

Kate Buchan

STARZ Dance WA

Dedicated. Resilient. Inclusive.

Kate Buchan provides free dance classes to children and young people with disabilities. Her organisation, STARZ Dance WA, helps young people to develop creative self-expression, confidence and physical fitness. While doing so, she also improves representation of disabilities in our community. More than 100 families benefit from Kate’s hard work and determination.

If Kate is successful in the community vote, the grant will be used to provide specialised inclusive training to her staff and invest in more adaptive equipment and resources.

Voting is now closed for Westfield Local Heroes.

The successful 2024 Westfield Innaloo Local Hero will be announced on 15 October. We congratulate all of our finalists and recognise the important contribution they make to the local community. Thank you for your votes.

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