Announcing your 2023 Westfield Local Hero

We are excited to announce Barry Geelan from Adra Pine Rivers Community Pantry as your 2023 Westfield Local Hero for North Lakes!

Westfield is proud to award a community grant of $20K to help Barry and Adra Pine Rivers Community Pantry 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 North Lakes Local Hero is:

Barry Geelan

Adra Pine Rivers Community Pantry

Generous. Dedicated. Inclusive.

Kind Barry Geelan is devoting his retirement to improving the quality of life for hundreds of people in his local community.

Barry is the volunteer operations manager and a tireless hands-on worker for the Adra Pine Rivers Community Pantry.

He sources and collects items and helps pack close to 200 hampers for people to collect at the drive-through pantry every Tuesday. A nominal $20 is asked for each hamper, but nobody is turned away.

Barry is always on hand to help people load the food into their car and lets people know that the team is there for them and that they are valued. It’s estimated that the contents of each hamper are redistributed to six people.

Barry has been involved in the pantry since 2018 when his wife became one of the original volunteers. Although she’s no longer well enough to volunteer, she remains his inspiration to give it his all.

Barry feels honoured and validated to be nominated as a Westfield Local Hero. “I see it as a God-given gift to be able to support my community. We have a great team of volunteers involved, and I just love being part of the leadership team.”

Adra Pine Rivers Community Pantry will repair its refrigerated truck and keep the cost of food hampers at $20. It will also buy fuel vouchers for people in need.

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

Bill Heraghty from Give A Child A Chance

Bill Heraghty works tirelessly to level the playing field for hundreds of local children whose families cannot afford school uniforms, laptops and other essentials. As chairperson of the Give A Child A Chance Foundation, Bill has facilitated support worth $200,000 for 930 local children over the past six years.

Joanne Bain from Pine Rivers Koala Care Association Incorporated

Selfless Joanne Bain has been protecting, rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing Koalas in the Moreton Bay area for nearly 30 years. Joanne is a 24-hour volunteer at Pine Rivers Koala Care, where she and her husband, Gary, have been awarded life membership for their quiet but relentless dedication to local wildlife.

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