Announcing your 2023 Westfield Local Hero

We are excited to announce Paul Miller from St Jude's Community Meal as your 2023 Westfield Local Hero for Marion!

Westfield is proud to award a community grant of $20K to help Paul and St Jude's Community Meal to continue to grow their impact in the local community

The 2023 Westfield Local Heroes program will award 126 grants across Australia and New Zealand – totalling $1.26 million to support local communities.

For further information or to discover the Westfield Local Heroes at other Westfield centres, visit the Westfield Local Heroes website.

Your 2023 Westfield Marion Local Hero is:

Paul Miller

St Jude's Community Meal

Passionate. Inclusive. Kind-hearted.

Kind-hearted Paul Miller goes above and beyond to feed hungry people in his community.

Paul coordinates the St Jude’s Brighton Community Meal , which provides good food and company to locals and visitors every Friday.

100+ people attend the weekly lunch, with Paul going out of his way to make everyone feel cared for and welcome.

He manages a large roster of volunteers, cooks, organises donors, waits tables, washes up and helps sets up the tables and chairs. He ensures any excess food is made available in St Jude’s 24-hour pantry.

Paul’s community involvement is his contribution to ending stigma towards those who have been dealt a rough hand.

In addition to his commitment to the weekly lunch, Paul is a founding member and volunteer at the Brighton Primary School Breakfast Club next door, which he has been coordinating/now serving for 15 years.

Paul and his family (along with a group of St Jude’s volunteers) also hosted a Christmas Day meal for more than 60 people last year, and he coordinates carols at Westfield Marion every year.

Paul is excited to be nominated as a Westfield Local Hero. “It is nice to know others can see what we are doing is worthwhile. My community involvement is a way to help restore broken lives.”

St Jude's Community Meal will invest in industrial refrigeration and an outdoor dining area to expand capacity.

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

Frank Parsley from Grandparents For Grandchildren SA

Frank Parsley is a quiet achiever who gives his all to improve the lives of grandparents who care for their grandchildren. Frank volunteers as a business support leader at Grandcarers SA, where he works behind the scenes to provide advice, assistance with education expenses and community connection to more than 1,200 families.

Samantha Kerr from Friends of Sturt River Landcare group (FoSRL)

Samantha (Sam) Kerr has united more than 1200 people to maintain and re-establish native plant communities for biodiversity and climate resilience. Sam founded the Friends of Sturt River Landcare group (FoSRL), which has created a green corridor from the hills to the sea.

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