Westfield Hurstville Local Hero finalist: Vote for Jacqui Gildaly and help her win $20,000 for Burdekin!
Burdekin’s own Jacqui Gildaly is one of three finalists for Hurstville in this year’s Westfields Local Hero awards. Jacqui is a passionate Program Manager for young people in out-of-home care.
Caring Jacqui Gildaly digs deep to keep life regular and happy for children in out-of-home care. In her role with The Burdekin Association, she is always willing to go the extra mile to find carers nearby children’s original community so they don’t need to change schools and can see their friends.
Westfield Local Heroes are nominated and voted for by their communities. The finalist with the most community votes will become the Westfield Hurstville Local Hero for 2022, receiving a $20,000 grant for the organisation they represent. If Jacqui is successful, The Burdekin Association will put the grant towards its Uplift Fund, which pays for a therapist for the children, tutoring and needed items such as school laptops.
It only takes a minute to recognise and give back to someone in your community who is doing amazing work. Vote for your Westfield Local Hero today. Visit Jacqui’s profile on the Westfields Local Hero’s page – Jacqui Gildaly, Hurstville.
Westfield Local Heroes is a recognition and awards program that shines the spotlight on individuals in Australia and New Zealand who make a positive impact to their local community or environment.
As many of you know, we recently moved to a new address in the Inner West and our arrival hasn’t gone unnoticed by our lovely new neighbours!
As a welcoming gift, the guys over at Franke Coffee have very generously loaned us one of their machines so our staff can enjoy a good cuppa. This gesture has really brightened our start here and eased the hassle of settling in.
Unknown to the Franke team, our staff had recently requested a coffee machine and we had to turn them down due to lack of funds. We are often presented with challenging work and when our community goes out of their way like this that really lifts our spirits!
Thank you to David Downing and the team for your kind gesture towards the arrival of your new neighbours and what we might need – community helping hands at their best.
The Mardi Gras Fair was amazing. Thank you for taking the time to come to our stall and ask about our work. We appreciate it.
There was an incredible turnout to Victoria Park with organisers estimating about 35,000 visitors.
United we certainly do shine!
Over the course of the day our colourful stall and friendly team attracted lots of people asking questions about what we do and how we do it. We ended up with a large number of people expressing interest in fostering or volunteering with us – the positive reaction exceeded our expectations.
Thank you to our staff who worked hard to create the stall. You will see more of us at community events like this one – keep a look out!
We are always here to answer questions, please do get in touch anytime:
We were lucky enough to have a jar at Grill’d Balgowlah for the month of February and now we are lucky again with a jar at Grill’d Leichhardt for the whole month of March. So, if you’re into healthy burgers and live in or are visiting the Inner West, why not swoop past and grab something delicious to eat whilst also helping us out at zero extra cost to you.
Simply order (online or in-person) any burger from Grill’d and ask for your token to be put into our jar – it’s that easy!
We have a chance to win the top donation prize of $300 or second or third place of $100 each. Grab some mates and head down for a burger and support your local charity! All you have to do is add a community token to our jar.
Being a Carer with The Burdekin Association is different from the traditional foster care programs.
We are a community-based non-profit organisation offering foster care to young people in need. Fostering can be undertaken in many ways, in your own home or a rent-free Burdekin property for you and the young person. Singles, couples and families areALL welcome!
Are you ready?
Do you want to take the next step and make a difference to a child’s life? For more information, call one of our carer support staff on 02 8976 1777 or email carer@burdekin.org.au.
Check out what Burdekin Foster Carers and young people in care have to say.
Have a listen to what Beth and Ange have to say about being Foster Carers with Burdekin. Beth and Ange.
Have a listen to what a difference having a caring home made to CJ. CJ
Have a listen to what being Foster Carers has meant to Jill and Tom. Jill and Tom.
At The Burdekin Association we know many teenagers are in need of a safe, secure, nurturing home and that many people won’t consider fostering teenagers because of negative misconceptions about them.
Fostering a teenager provides young people with a consistent, nurturing, adult role model at a vital time in their life, allowing them to build up necessary steps to independence.
You do not need to have had your own teenagers or have had experience with teenagers. What you do need to have is an open heart to support young people who need to be loved and protected.
Keeping siblings together in foster care is vital to keep their close bond and connection rather than being split up. Burdekin currently have young teenage siblings who urgently need carers available to offer them a safe and nurturing home.
Lisa* is a kind, thoughtful 11-year-old girl with loads of energy, looking for a loving home in the Inner West of Sydney. Lisa loves gymnastics, dancing and has recently shown a lot of interest in AFL. Lisa will be making the transition to high school next year and may need help getting to and from her new school. Lisa loves school but sometimes needs some support with her homework. She loves structure and routine and goes to bed at the same time every night. Lisa is an amazing chef – her favourite things to make are smoothies and cupcakes. *Image and name has been changed to protect child’s identity.
Ricky* is a caring, funny, smart 12-year-old boy who is full of energy and is hoping for a warm and loving home in the Inner West of Sydney. Ricky* absolutely loves NRL and has recently taken a huge interest in his fitness – going to the local park for running and circuit training. He has recently learnt to follow recipes and cooks up a storm. Ricky* takes so much pride in his bedroom. Ricky* enjoys school and sometimes will need some support with his assignments. Ricky* responds positively to a structured but fun environment. *Image and name have been changed to protect child’s identity.
We are looking for individuals from all sorts of backgrounds and experiences, who are single or in a relationship – all are welcome and encouraged to become foster carers.
