Announcing your 2023 Westfield Local Hero

We are excited to announce Gary Martin from Hands of Hope Foundation Incorporation as your 2023 Westfield Local Hero for Tea Tree Plaza!

Westfield is proud to award a community grant of $20K to help Gary and Hands of Hope Foundation Incorporation 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 Tea Tree Plaza Local Hero is:

Gary Martin

Hands of Hope Foundation Incorporation

Compassionate. Dedicated. Inspiring.

Big-hearted Gary Martin goes above and beyond to help women recover from the physical, mental, emotional and economic impacts of family and domestic violence.

Gary is the CEO and co-founder of Hands of Hope Foundation, a charity that provides crisis support, emergency relief services and life skills courses and programs.
Emergency relief includes food boxes, ready-made meals, food vouchers, clothing vouchers, toiletries and relocation support.

For longer-term support, Gary focuses on helping people to learn life skills, such as budgeting. In addition, hands of Hope runs eight-week empowerment groups titled Women are Strong and Standing Strong. These are designed for women who are currently experiencing violence or who have recently left a violent environment.

Gary and his wife, Deb, have put their hearts and souls into Hands of Hope, which they started in late 2019 without any experience running a charity or business. It has been a steep learning curve, not least because the Covid pandemic started soon after they started work.

Gary feels privileged and honoured to be nominated as a Westfield Local Hero. “I am encouraged to carry on helping people who are vulnerable or abused,” he says.

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

Alex Conway from White Ribbon Australia

Alex Conway is a male role model for respectful relationships and ending gender-based violence. Alex is a Primary Prevention Partner at White Ribbon Australia, where he educates men and boys about toxic masculinity and individual responsibility. He enjoys the attitude shift that occurs when the men he speaks to realise they must stop being bystanders.

Judy Bowden from Lolly Jar Circus Inc.

Judy Bowden is the founder of Lolly Jar Circus, where she has devoted 10 years to helping local young people become healthier and happier members of the community. Judy’s charity uses circus training to build social skills in a fun and loving environment that focuses on the needs of people with disabilities and those at social risk.

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