Presenting your 2020 Westfield Local Heroes

We are excited to announce your three 2020 successful Westfield Local Heroes for Riccarton.

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 Riccarton Local Heroes are:

Senior Constable Bruce Ward

Blue Light Christchurch
Empathetic. Passionate. Dedicated

Police officer Bruce Ward has spent years making a difference in the lives of youth from disadvantaged backgrounds. Through Blue Light, he organises camps, mentoring and fun activities to guide young people onto a more positive path. Bruce is also dedicated to supporting Muslim youth traumatised by the 2019 mosque attacks. His interventions include camps, mentoring, drug and alcohol courses and adventures like rock climbing. “Over the years many participants have contacted me to tell me the difference Blue Light made in their life,” says Bruce.

Find out more >

Jan Nottingham

Ronald McDonald House South Island
Empathetic. Encouraging. Strong

Landing a job as night supervisor at Ronald McDonald House South Island in 2012 was a silver lining for Jan Nottingham after the earthquake in 2011 destroyed her home. She has been giving back ever since; as a caring listener, a shoulder to cry on and a guaranteed hug for any of the 8,500 families who have passed through the doors. Families from all over New Zealand stay at the house while their child is in hospital. Jan cherishes her interactions with the families. "I'm doing work I love, which means to me it's not work at all," says Jan.

Find out more >

Matt Brown

She Is Not Your Rehab
Passionate. Compassionate. Dedicated

Matt Brown is working hard to end the cycle of domestic and family violence. He started She Is Not Your Rehab, a movement to encourage men to deal with their own experiences of childhood abuse instead of taking it out on their wives and girlfriends. "The movement is simply an invitation for men to acknowledge their own childhood trauma and to take responsibility for their healing instead of transmitting it on those around them," Matt says. The number of men seeking help has increased since She Is Not Your Rehab started taking off on social media. "Our communities are crying out for help, support and tools to see these cycles of abuse and trauma come to an end," Matt says.

Find out more >