Presenting your 2022 Westfield Local Hero
We are excited to announce your 2022 successful Westfield Local Hero for Newmarket.
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.
Your 2022 Westfield Newmarket Local Hero is:
Jessie Yan
ForYouth Global Trust
Dedicated, Consistent, Passionate
Innovative teenager Jessie Yan founded ForYouth Global Trust to provide personal development and educational opportunities to the youth of Aotearoa.
Jessie’s programs include inspiring seminars, music activities, book donations and a learning initiative to help preserve the Māori language. In addition, young people are encouraged to reach out for support if they need it.
Sixteen-year-old Jessie founded her charity in 2020 during the COVID lockdowns to help young people who lacked access to online learning and other educational resources.
Jessie discussed her plan for a charity with her teachers and peers and decided to focus on providing support around educational opportunities.
One of her first challenges was learning social media marketing and video editing skills, which has helped the charity reach thousands of young people.
An example of Jessie’s success was a stimulating online seminar in which a Stanford University freshman shared lessons learnt during her COVID gap year and then participated in an engaging discussion with her online audience.
Jessie has also raised enough money to provide 50 schools with complementary Kaupapa Board games, giving students a fun way to expand their Māori vocabulary.
“I started ForYouth because I want all youth in Aotearoa to get the opportunities they deserve,” Jessie says.
ForYouth Global Trust will use the funds to develop and distribute a multilingual expansion pack of the Kaupapa game, offering youth from many different backgrounds the opportunity to celebrate te reo Māori through learning-rich play.
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.
Natalie Elia from Youthline Auckland Charitable Trust
Natalie Elia is a dedicated Youth Development Manager at Youthline, where she goes above and beyond to support hundreds of seriously at-risk 15- to 24-year-olds. Through her encouraging nature, Natalie helps the people in her care foster their sense of identity and become the best versions of themselves.
Nurain Janah from Authenticity Aotearoa
Trailblazer Nurain Janah founded Authenticity Aotearoa to help women of colour gain confidence to use their cultural heritage to their advantage at work and in the community. Drawing on her experiences as a migrant Muslim woman, Nurain is determined that young women and future generations won’t face barriers to success because of their background.
If you need support, please phone Lifeline: 0800 543 354.
Recognising all our 2022 nominees
View all of the Westfield Newmarket nominees and their organisation