Dedicated volunteer who feeds the homeless named Westfield Local Hero for North Lakes region

Helen Bambling from The Breakfast Club Redcliffe has been named this year’s Westfield Local Hero for the North Lakes region.

Helen was announced the winner at a small ceremony at the shopping centre this morning, winning a $20,000 grant which will allow the Redcliffe Breakfast Club to help more people in need.

Helen, who has been described as the heart and soul of the organisation, spends countless hours connecting with homeless locals and others in the community who are in need of meals, a chat, or advice.

Helen grew up with a cleft palate and has lived experience of homelessness, bullying and disadvantage, which is why it is so important for her to give back to her community.

In a Facebook post, The Breakfast Club Redcliffe thanked everyone who voted and supported Helen to become a Local Hero, and thanked Westfield for this wonderful opportunity.

The post has already received hundreds of likes and comments from the local community offering their congratulations to Helen and The Breakfast Club.

The two other nominees - Bill Heraghty and Sophie-Jane Adler-Magee, also received $5000 each for their organisations.

Meet the other finalists:

Bill Heraghty from Give A Child A Chance 

Bill has dedicated his retirement to ensuring hundreds of local children have uniforms and other school essentials. Bill leads the Give A Child A Chance Foundation, which is run by Margate Vinnies, and has helped provide more than 600 children with $120,000 of support over the past four and a half years.

Sophie-Jane Adler-Magee from A Brave Life

Selfless Sophie-Jane Adler-Magee spends countless hours supporting vulnerable young mothers through the charity A Brave Life.

 At 21 years old, Sophie-Jane is a volunteer board member of the charity, which teaches parenting skills and connects mums to local businesses and educational services to pursue their dreams of work or further education.

Above: Helen Bambling, Sophie-Jane Adler-Magee and Bill Heraghty.

Supporting the community 

Scentre Group National Community Experience Manager Pam Wilson says this is the fifth year the Westfield Local Heroes program has run.

“As we celebrate our fifth year of the Westfield Local Heroes program, we are once again overwhelmed by the inspiring nominations this year,” Pam says.

“Through the success of the program, we are proud to be able to continue to recognise and reward everyday people doing extraordinary work in our communities.”

“We congratulate our recipients and thank our customers and communities for casting their votes to help determine our 2022 Westfield Local Heroes.”

Established in 2018, Scentre Group’s Westfield Local Heroes program celebrates community role models whose work benefits others across a broad range of sectors, including family and youth support, health and wellbeing, inclusion and equity, community resilience and environmental sustainability.

Since 2018, the program has contributed to more than 600 community organisations, investing a total of $6.14 million since the program’s inception.