Presenting your 2020 Westfield Local Heroes
We are excited to announce your three 2020 successful Westfield Local Heroes for Newmarket.
These inspiring local leaders were nominated and voted for by the community and will now be awarded a $10,000 grant for each of their affiliated organisations to help their important work to grow.
Westfield Local Heroes is a community recognition and grants program, connecting and enriching local communities. Launched in 2018, the program spans our 42 trade areas across Australia and New Zealand. In 2020, we are awarding $1.26 million to 126 local organisations.
For further information on the Westfield Local Heroes program, click here.
Your three Westfield Newmarket Local Heroes are:
Debbie Hoskins
Make-A-Wish Foundation of New Zealand Trust
Nurturing. Inclusive. Devoted
Debbie Hoskins goes above and beyond in her role as Volunteer Manager with the Make-A-Wish Foundation of New Zealand. Her support encourages volunteers to spend many years making the one true wish of children with a serious illness come true. It’s thanks to Debbie’s support and encouragement that many of the 138 volunteers who work to make wishes come true have remained with the charity for years. “The situations they walk into as volunteers can be emotionally challenging, so ensuring they practice self-care and knowing that I am always here to talk them through these challenges is a must,” she says.
Emma Louise MacDonald
Heartfelt NZ
Compassionate. Caring. Generous
Emma MacDonald always puts grieving families first. She is a volunteer with Heartfelt NZ, an organisation that provides free photographic memories for parents who have lost a baby to stillbirth or whose child has a terminal illness. It’s not unusual for Emma to leave work or family dinners to help these families. “Heartfelt families often take a higher priority than friends, family and down time,” Emma says. “We capture the love that is evident in the room, the memories and the details.”
Katya Souvorova
Heart Kids NZ
Empathetic. Generous. Kind-hearted
Katya Souvorova is the friendly face of Heart Kids at the Auckland Children's Hospital. As a Hospital Family Support Worker, Katya provides vital emotional support to families while a child is in hospital for a heart-related condition. She also assesses families for petrol, food and coffee vouchers. Katya is known for putting her soul into her work and builds genuine connections with families, who are often at the hospital for long periods at a time and may need many years of follow-up. People know she will stop for a chat, listen and be there as a shoulder to cry on.
We congratulate all of our finalists and nominees and recognise the important contribution they make to the local community.
View all of the finalists, nominees and their organisations
If you need support, please phone Lifeline: 0800 543 354
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