Presenting your 2021 Westfield Local Heroes
We are excited to announce your three 2021 successful Westfield Local Heroes for Tuggerah.
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 Tuggerah Local Heroes are:
Christine Mastello
Southlakes Incorporated
Dedicated. Unstoppable. Kind
Christine (Chris) Mastello wants everyone in the community to feel cared for and valued and runs several programs to help hundreds of people in need through her Southlakes Incorporated charity, which she started in 2013. She provides hundreds of meals a week and free haircuts to homeless people. Now Chris is launching a scheme for locals to give their spare room to a homeless person for three months.
Lorraine Churchill
Central Coast Kids In Need
Heroic. Selfless. Inspiring
Retired nurse Lorraine Churchill has dedicated the past 16 years to providing financial help to families with premature newborns or children who need hospital care in Sydney or Newcastle. She does this as the compassionate and dedicated secretary of the volunteer-run Central Coast Kids in Need, which has covered nearly $4 million in accommodation and medicine costs for more than 3,000 families since 2005. As well as her role as Secretary Lorraine is also the charities Grant Writer and was successful in obtaining grants to the value of $155,000 last year.
Ross Beckley
Behind The Seen
Humble. Inspirational. Amazing
Firefighting veteran Ross Beckley is on a mission to encourage Central Coast emergency service workers to put their hand up if they need help. Ross is a co-founder of the Behind the Seen project and has visited every Central Coast rural fire brigade to offer peer support and to reduce the stigma of depression, anxiety and PTSD among first responders.
We congratulate our finalists and recognise the important contribution they make to the local community.
Joshua Sullivan from Rural Fire Service Central Coast Comms Brigade
Joshua Sullivan always puts the community ahead of his own needs as the volunteer captain of the Rural Fire Service Central Coast Communications Brigade. He didn’t hesitate to put his career on hold to help coordinate the response to the 2019-20 bushfire crisis working 12-hour shifts.
Sally Hudson from Happiness Habits Inc.
Sally Hudson offers free mentoring, empowerment training and social connection to help vulnerable women on the Central Coast turn their lives around. She co-founded her non-profit organisation Happiness Habits to provide practical and emotional support to women who have survived domestic and family violence or have dependency issues, mental illness or other challenges.
If you need support, please phone Lifeline: 13 11 14
Recognising all our 2021 nominees
View all of the Westfield Tuggerah nominees and their organisations
