We are excited to announce your 2022 successful Westfield Local Hero for Tuggerah.

The successful Westfield Local Heroes organisation, will receive a grant of $20,000 to help them continue to grow their impact in the local community. Westfield will award 126 grants across Australia and New Zealand – totalling $1.26 million.

In early 2023, we will open nominations for the 2023 Westfield Local Heroes program, so start thinking about those people in your communities who make a difference.

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Your 2022 Westfield Tuggerah Local Hero is:

Jillian Hogan

San Remo Neighbourhood Centre
Innovative. Selfless. Powerful

Jillian Hogan has worked tirelessly for 33 years as a catalyst of transformation for the San Remo and surrounding communities.

Jillian is the Manager of the Epicentre, a vibrant community Centre located at San Remo. She leads a team of staff and more than 43 volunteers who work with the most vulnerable of our community; providing a broad range of programs for young people, children and families addressing issues such as mental health, poverty, family violence, homelessness, unemployment, social isolation and community recovery.

Thanks to Jillian, there are many spaces and places that she has developed to increase community infrastructure and participation including, a youth facility, men’s shed, 2 community gardens, Aboriginal outdoor learning area Nagylia Dhuluga, 4 playgrounds, an op-shop, state-level BMX track, youth festivals and numerous murals.

For the past two years, Jillian has gone above and beyond to ensure families have food and resources including social connections during and after the devastating bushfires, floods and COVID lockdowns.

A key aspect of Jillian’s success is ensuring everyone is heard, valued and that they have a role to play in change. “The most important aspect in people's lives is social connections. When people are connected to their community and have a sense of belonging, they are more likely to have greater mental, physical, social, financial and cultural health and well-being outcomes,” Jillian says.

San Remo Neighbourhood Centre will use its funds to build a facility to expand its services to provide for vulnerable families such as counselling, food relief and youth services.

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We also congratulate our finalists who will receive a $5,000 grant for the organisation they represent, and we thank them for their incredible contribution to the local community.

Derryck Klarkowski from We Care Connect
Derryck Klarkowski has created a local charity that has supported more than 10,000 Central Coast children with hundreds of thousands of high-quality donated items. With a vision that no local child should go without clothing, a cot or a pram, Derryck founded the We Care Connect Charity six years ago with like-minded friends.

Vicky Carr from Southlake's Incorporated
Vicky Carr lives to help people doing it tough and has supported thousands with food, clothing and housing over the past 10 years as Vice-Chair of the charity Southlakes Incorporated. Vicky is admired for going the extra mile for people. For example, during COVID, she helped compile and deliver free food packs to 16,000 people.

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

Recognising all our 2022 nominees

View all of the Westfield Tuggerah nominees and their organisation