Three incredible individuals have been recognised as part of Westfield’s annual Local Heroes grant program.
Parramatta’s three grant recipients include Accessible Diversity Service’s Alison Jones who works with refugee youth, Jason Sotiris who provides sick children with free medical-grade superhero garments and Louise Borg who is a long-time volunteer of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Each inspiring individual will receive a $10,000 grant, which will be put towards their cause.
Mr Sotiris, who came up with the idea for ‘Supertees’ after his one-year-old baby was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer, said he felt extremely grateful to be a recipient and that the funding will be used towards establishing a volunteer program to help them expand further.
“We aim to help little heroes fight the big battles,” he said
Ms Borg, who also works with sick children, has volunteered for the Western Sydney branch of the Make-A-Wish Foundation for 18 years. She is currently the branch President.
Over the years, she has brought joy to many families and children with serious illnesses by pulling out all the stops to fulfil their wish.
“When you give a child a wish, the smile and appreciation and joy that you see from the whole family is so special; they’ve gone through so much, so to see that joy is really fulfilling,” she said.
She said her grant money will be used to fulfil more wishes.
Ms Jones, who works with newly arrived refugee youth, goes above and beyond to help them access employment and education opportunities here in Australia.
Her Learn to Swim program provides Islamic girls with a private and safe space to learn to swim, socialise and improve their physical and emotional well-being. It also caters for boys. Several students have trained as swimming instructors, and 14 have been employed so far.
“It allows them to feel really supported whilst making friends, practicing English and feeling valued as people and allows them to become financially independent with a job,” she said.
The money will be used to fund more swimming lessons and to buy burkinis for those who cannot afford them.
This year over $1.2 million has been awarded to 126 individuals to help them continue making a difference. Recipients of these grants are nominated by and voted for by their local communities.
Troy Dodds is Parra News' Managing Editor and Breaking News Reporter. He has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working with some of Australia’s leading media organisations. In 2023, he was named Editor of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.