Presenting your 2021 Westfield Local Heroes

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

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, click here.

Your three Westfield Sydney Local Heroes are:

Dr Helen Gooden

ANZGOG & Survivors Teaching Students
Informed. Dedicated. Passionate

Dr Helen Gooden has given life-saving knowledge about the hidden symptoms of ovarian cancer to 5000 future doctors and nurses since she introduced the Survivors Teaching Students program to Australia. Helen is the national manager of the program and works tirelessly with 150 brave ovarian cancer survivors who share their diagnosis stories with students at 14 universities.

Find out more >

Gail O'Brien

Chris O'Brien Lifehouse
Inspirational. Empathetic. Kind

As a patient advocate, Gail O’Brien AO offers people with cancer a shoulder to lean on. Gail is a director of the Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, a integrated cancer hospital in Newtown that fulfils her late husband’s vision for an integrated cancer treatment centre where patients are supported through all the different elements of their illness.

Find out more >

Jackie Warn

One Meal - It Makes a Difference
Committed. Generous. Empathetic

Jackie Warn has dedicated the last six years to One Meal, a charity feeding homeless and underprivileged people in Sydney. Jackie spends her days Friday and Saturday nights cooking and also helps collect food donations to feed 180 to 200 people on Saturdays at Green Park and Ward Park. She also manages volunteers and assists with fundraising and strategy planning.

Find out more >

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

Craig Foster from Addison Road Community Organisation
Craig Foster AM is a generous volunteer ambassador for Addison Road Community Organisation. The former Socceroos captain has helped boost the charity’s crisis relief food efforts, donations and #HamperofHope program by mobilising sport and other well-known advocates for vulnerable people including homeless, international students, multicultural communities, Aboriginal community services, asylum seekers and refugees.

Gabriella Holmes from Sir David Martin Foundation
Gabriella Holmes has helped countless young people recover from substance misuse, family breakdown and other issues for two decades. Gabriella is the area manager at Mission Australia’s Triple Care Farm, a residential youth drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility, which treats about 200 young people from around the country every year. She is also an ambassador for the Sir David Martin Foundation, which is the major funder of the facility.

Sarah Garnett from The Footpath Library
Sarah Garnett has been bringing the joy of reading to people experiencing homelessness since 2003. Sarah set up The Footpath Library in Martin Place in Sydney after discovering that many disadvantaged people in our community love to read but have difficulty accessing good quality literature.

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