Previous Winners
2023 Andrea Creado
Connecting Communities
Nominated by Soroptimist International On The Terrace
Andrea is the CEO of Ishar Multicultural Women’s Health Services, and her project Connecting Communities (CC) aims to support older refugee and migrant women facing severe social isolation and loneliness. Through support groups, crafts, exercise, and educational workshops, CC aims to reduce isolation’s negative mental and physical health effects while increasing community participation and understanding of health and well-being. The program recognises the significant risks older women face and strives to address the root causes of social isolation, such as language barriers, limited access to services, loss of extended communities, and domestic violence. By providing capacity-building opportunities, CC empowers multicultural women and combats social isolation effectively.
2021 Daphne White
Online Toolkit: Recognising coercive controlling behavours in relationships
Nominated by Soroptimist International of Geraldton
As a practitioner and educator in the family and domestic violence (FDV) sector, Daphne observed an absence of evidence-based resources on coercive control. She identified a need to educate women and increase their knowledge of the behaviours and tactics of coercive, controlling partners that may occur early and during a relationship. “If they can recognise it and predict it then they can prevent it from occurring.” Daphne’s project is to develop a toolkit of resources to support those wanting to engage in prevention of family and domestic violence. It will encourage and be available to women, organisations and schools to download and implement in their community.
2019 Jolleen Hicks
The Roebourne Women’s Place
Nominated by Soroptimist International of Karratha & Districts
The Ngarluma Aboriginal woman from Roebourne has previously worked as a native title lawyer in Western Australia and Queensland. Jolleen was named Young Woman Lawyer of the Year for WA in 2010 and has successfully worked with Aboriginal groups across the country. Jolleen used the Award funds to create the Roebourne Women’s Place to be a safe place and venue for friendship, education, leadership and cultural development.
2017 Dr Naomi Godden
Women’s Climate Justice Collective
Nominated by Soroptimist International of Bunbury
The Margaret River woman and feminist climate justice advocate used the Award funds to build the Women’s Climate Justice Collective, a national movement of women working to elevate women’s human rights in climate change debate, policy and action.
2015 Alicia Curtis
100 Women Fund
Nominated by Soroptimist International of South Perth
100 Women founder Alicia Curtis used the Stella Giles Award prize money to develop resources to create awareness of the 100 Women Fund to increase participation both as donors to the fund and possible projects. 100 Women is a giving circle, which enables everyday people to be involved in creating a world where all women and girls can live safely with access to health, education and economic freedom.
2014 Nicole O’Dea
Daughters of Destiny
Nominated by Soroptimist International of Perth
Nicole O’Dea has assisted young women who have been victims of violence and abuse to access housing, counselling and education in self-esteem and life skills. Nicole used the Stella Giles funds for a project to set up free workshops for young single mum to connect in a positive way.
2013 Teresa Lee
First Home Project
Nominated by Soroptimist International of Helena
Teresa Lee created an innovative project to address the food needs of African refugee families in Perth.
2012 Joanna Randell
Madjitil Moorna choir – Halls Creek Project
Nominated by Soroptimist International of Helena
Joanna Randell, the Coordinator of the Madjitil Moorna Inc, a unique choir she founded after observing that the needs of Aboriginal people were not being met musically. The choir plays a positive part in encouraging the Indigenous and wider community to sing, and through music, help build our community. The choir members learn about Aboriginal culture and languages and many new friendships are developed.
The Halls Creek Project involves producing a packaged resource to generate pride and promote singing and a love of words, for the children and families of Halls Creek, WA. This incorporates The Halls Creek Rodeo Song, which was written in 2009 by students in Halls Creek and Madjitil Moorna Music Director, George Walley, and subsequently recorded. The words are highly descriptive and have a positive happy effect on people.
Joanna will use the Stella Giles Award to fund an illustrated booklet with music CD and a short DVD of the Halls Creek Rodeo Song and its history, incorporating illustrations drawn by local children. She aims to produce 500 copies, some as gifts to the schools and families, many for sale at the Halls Creek Visitor’s Centre. The packages will be in the Halls Creek Visitor’s Centre for the Rodeo season in July 2013, throughout the East Kimberley. Profits from sales will be utilised to fund other programs that support these children who have worked and performed with Madjitil Moorna over the last few years.
2011 Theresa Hillhouse
Click on the photo for an extract from SIKAD’s newsletter
Nominated by Soroptimist International of Karratha and Districts
Theresa Hillhouse was a volunteer ambulance officer with Karratha station and planned to use the money to help towards her finishing her paramedic training in Perth.
She has since joined a volunteer group of paramedics called ‘Backpacker Medics’ who are a group of paramedics and other medical staff that provide medical treatment and education to a group of villages in the Nepalese mountains,building a medical centre outpost, with education facilities, and treatment rooms. The venue will also provide showers toilet and filtered drinking water.
2010 Janny Thomas
Cyril Jackson Senior Campus “Keys to Drive” Program
Nominated by Soroptimist International On the Terrace
Janny Thomas is the Head of the Department of Business and Information Technology and Cyril Jackson Senior Campus. Many students from this school are girls from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and a significant number are recent survivors of challenging and even horrific refugee situations.
A large group of students qualify for their learner driver’s permit each year through completing their written test, but are unable to progress to practical driving lessons because the cost is prohibitive. Proper driving instruction is important to increase students’ chances of getting a job, increase their chances of being able to get to tertiary study, and decrease their chances of driving without a licence.
The funding from the Stella Giles Award for Excellence will enable a small pilot project where a group of girls will receive five driving lessons and become ambassadors for the program to attract further funding.
2009 Lynnette Ellard
22 March 2017 – check out the image gallery to see more photos
Peduli Bali
Nominated by Soroptimist International of Fremantle
Lynnette is a member of Soroptimist International of Fremantle and founder of Peduli Bali – a registered charity that delivers rice, clothing and other supplies to an orphanage and nursing home in Bali. Lynnette used the funding from the Stella Giles Award for Excellence to complete a project that delivered fresh water to one of the villages serviced by Peduli Bali.
The project took many months to plan and the team of supporters, volunteers and locals who dug the trenches and laid the pipes were overjoyed when the first fresh water flowed from the tap in February 2010. The next project for Peduli Bali will be to install a septic tank to improve hygiene in the village. A child sponsorship program has also been undertaken in 2010.
A presentation about this project can be viewed here.
2007 Fiona White-Hartig
Roebourne Girls’ FX Group
Nominated by Soroptimist International of Karratha and Districts
Fiona White-Hartig works in the area of indigenous youth and is currently the General Manager North West of the David Wirrpanda Foundation. Her aim is to raise the self-esteem and status of indigenous youth to create future leaders and mentors of our communities.
The Roebourne Girls’ FX Group is a program for indigenous girls in Roebourne, Karratha and Wickham, developed by Fiona when she first moved to Roebourne. It is aimed at providing Indigenous girls with the same opportunities as non-Indigenous girls in the region. The program began as a grooming and deportment course to help the girls prepare for job interviews. Through Fiona’s encouragement and training the girls have been able to make progress with education and self-esteem. 250 people attended their graduation and Fashion Show presentation where the local Member of Parliament presented their certificates.
Fiona will use the Stella Giles Award to travel through the United States on a study tour to meet with other youth workers and study development prgrams to support “at risk” youth in the community. Knowledge gained on this tour will then be used to expand the programs already developed for both Indigenous boys and girls in the North West of Western Australia.
2006 Steph McDonald
My Dream Project – Rockingham
Nominated by Soroptimist International of Rockingham
Steph McDonald has taught in the area of Special Education for over 15 years. At present she is the Principal of Warnbro Community High School Education Support Centre. Steph is highly regarded by her colleagues in the area of inclusive education for students with disabilities and is the driver behind many successful programs to improve working opportunities for such students.
Steph’s current undertaking is the ‘MY DREAM’ project, which promotes local community groups, services and employers of people with a disability in a positive manner, emphasising their achievement of business outcomes through social and civic contributions. Having successfully introduced this program into her school, Steph now wants to expand the expertise beyond the school and into the community, by facilitating a three-day workshop for representatives of agencies and community groups. She then hopes to work alongside participants in their implementation of the ‘Dreaming’ process with young people with disabilities and other ‘at risk’ people in the local community. The Stella Giles Award for Excellence will support her through this process.
2005 Rebecca Thomson
Mountain Angels – Nepal
Nominated by Soroptimist International On the Terrace
In her efforts to assist women and girls caught up in human trafficking, Rebecca has established a business called Mountain Angels to sell Nepalese made goods in Australia. Funds raised by these sales go to a non-profit human rights group called ABC Nepal to assist the women and girls rescued from brothels through police raids. Rebecca also spends time as a volunteer nurse at the Snowlands School on the Tibet-Nepal border. Her aim now is to establish a safe and loving environment for children aged 5-15 years who have been orphaned or displaced in war-torn Nepal.
Rebecca will use her award to conduct a three-month feasibility study by investigating the current status of children afftected by the war in Kathmandu. She will also establish a project plan for the establishment of a ‘home’ based on the information gathered and priorities identified.
2004 Anne Jeavons
Champion of the Deaf
Nominated by Soroptimist International of Helena.
Anne will use the award to further her ambition to promote the cause of counselling services for Deaf and hard of hearing people in the community. During 2004, Anne will carry out research, collect and interpret data in order to present a report to the Minister for Disabilities in 2005. As a professional counsellor, Anne will attend the national conference in Brisbane (Oct 04), where she will present a paper on the implications for deaf people in the Counselling context.
2003 Sandra Winning
Designer of “The Winning Edge” Flashcards to assist autistic learning.
Nominated by Soroptimist International of Cambridge.
Through her award Sandra has been able to establish a website to promote the distribution of her “winning Connections” Teaching Aids.
2002 Robyn Barrett-Levy
Artistic Director & Aministrator, Karratha Youth Theatre
Nominated by Soroptimist International of Karratha & Districts
The award has enabled Robyn to travel to Perth to complete the Community Arts Network WA – Community Cultural Development Planning course. This 5 day course covered the topics of assessing cultural activity within the community, networking within the community and setting goals for future cultural development. Robyn believes that by exposing young people to innovative contemporary performances she will be able to support, challenge nurture and encourage artistic and cultural expression and development in young people.
2001 Ros Worthington, OAM
Director, La Femme Breast Cancer Foundation Inc
Nominated by Soroptimist International of Helena
Ros Worthington OAM, has worked to provide support to women in our community affected by breast cancer. Ros is using the funds from the award to help develop a web site to provide educational programs to younger women from non-English speaking backgrounds and women in rural Australia.
Update on 15 December 2017 Chemo at home reported: Dr Ros Worthington OAM has agreed to be the Patron of chemo@home. I would encourage you all to find out more about this sincere, kind, intelligent woman who works so hard for charities and causes in which she believes. Ros is the founder of Breast Cancer Care WA (Purple Bra Day), Lifeline WA and so many other causes. To have her as a Patron and supporter is truly a blessing. Welcome to the chemo@home team Ros.
2000 Myrtle D Mullaley
Voluntary Nominated by Soroptimist International of Joondalup
Myrtle Mullaley established a Community Social and Crafts Centre to give time-out to Aboriginal Grandmothers who lived with their relatives and minded the children. The centre is operated from a Homeswest Community Hall in Girrawheen. Myrtle used the funds from the award to purchase a television, video recorder and a supply of educational videos and a camera to photograph the arts and crafts made by the women to establish a visual record and history of their work.
1999 Wilma Dunne
WA Director, Operation Rainbow
Nominated by Soroptimist International of Joondalup
Operation Rainbow has been highly successful in reversing deformed facial features and in creating attractive and happy faces for children. Wilma used the award to carry out research into ‘Post-Surgery Speech Training’ and also to publish a ‘Presenting Mother’s Information Booklet’ for the mothers of cleft lip and palate deformed children who are presenting to the doctors for the first time. The booklet provided mothers with information on the benefits of the surgery and how the surgery would transform the child’s life. The booklet also contained exercises to facilitate better speech and hygiene for post-operative cleft lip and palate children.
1998 Linda Williams
Physiotherapist, ASeTTs
Nominated by Soroptimist International of Perth
Linda, through her work as a physiotherapist working with the Australian Services for Torture and Trauma Survivors (ASeTTS), was fortunate to attend the 2nd International Seminar for Physiotherapy Educators on Ethics and Torture in Copenhagen. Linda used the award to disseminate the information gained in Copenhagen to the physiotherapy community and to the general community to help make the management of torture survivors something that is a “thread” through the undergraduate physiotherapy curriculum at Curtin University. Linda presented this information at the Australian Physiotherapy Association’s Conference in Hobart.
1997 Lyn Page
Managing Director, Forrest Holdings (WA) Pty Ltd
Nominated by Soroptimist International of Broome
Lyn used the award to print and distribute a leaflet educating the community about the nature of different types of family violence. The leaflet was used to promote family violence workshops in Broome and to provide phone numbers for counselling and crisis help services.
1996 Jean Rickards
Community Worker
Nominated by Soroptimist International of Morrison
Jean has dedicated much of her life to educating women on how to avoid osteoporosis and regularly visits schools, women’s groups and health clubs to talk about the importance of calcium and exercise to avoid osteoporosis. Jean used the award to increase awareness of osteoporosis and disabled people’s needs in the community.
1995 Dr. Anne Read
Epidemiologist
Nominated by Soroptimist International of Helena
An epidemiologist, Dr Anne Read has focused on the prevention of disease in the area of maternal and child health. Two areas of particular and ongoing interest are Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and Aboriginal maternal and child health. Anne used the award to assist her attendance at the 4th SIDS International Conference which was held in Washington DC in 1996, where she presented her most recent findings.
1994 Anne Blanchard
Head, School of Social Work, Curtin University
Nominated by Soroptimist International of Joondalup
Award funds were used towards completing a research project to study the effects of witnessing domestic violence as children on the lives of adults. Anne hoped that through publication of the results of this study there would be a greater spread of knowledge about the widening effects of domestic violence on family life, and particularly on children. Anne also hoped that the findings could be used by the University of Sydney Law Department to assist in reforms to the Family Law Act in relation to the custody of children and their safety.
1993 Marjorie Tidman
Lecturer, Murdoch University
Nominated by Soroptimist International of Morrison
The award was used to record an oral history of the Aboriginal Women of the Onslow and Roebourne Area in Book Form. Their oral history will document the struggle, joy and courage of a community which is emerging from oppression, alcoholism, prejudice and superstition towards full participation in community life, self-respect, self-determination and equality with non-aboriginal communities. Marjorie intended the book to be an educational resource for high school ‘history’, ‘social studies’, and ‘aboriginal studies’ and of interest to the general community. Proceeds from the book sales are to be donated to the Onslow community for their ongoing spiritual, social and economic development.
1992 Elizabeth Sugars
Teacher, Co-ordinator
Nominated by Soroptimist International of Rockingham
Elizabeth used the award to facilitate a workshop for Rockingham Family School and the EASY Learning Centre aimed at increasing awareness of the way groups of people work together to achieve common goals. The workshop involved team-building exercises, leading to an understanding of the principals of Synergy. The second half of the workshop was devoted to understanding and applying the principals of goal setting, with each of the two groups coming out of the day with a written, working plan, and a group vision for their future.
1991 Mary Jo Kroeber
Deputy Director Nursing, Osborne Park Hospital
Nominated by Soroptimist International of Joondalup
The award assisted Sister Mary Jo Kroeber to attend the World Congress of Enterostomal Therapy Nurses. Sister Kroeber specialized in stomal nursing and therapy techniques. The Congress discusses the advanced technology of stoma therapy nursing, helps to promote better care and understanding through the presentation of stimulating papers, workshops, posters and an exhibition of ostomy appliances and skin care products.
1990 Judith Smith
Midwife
Nominated by Soroptimist International of Joondalup
Judith a midwife working with women battling Post Natal Depression campaigned for the inclusion of a NGALA type unit to be built into the planned extensions to Wanneroo Hospital. The award not only recognised Judith’s devotion to duty, but also helped her financially to continue her Welfare Studies at TAFE.
1989 Helen Rogerson
Radiographer, St. John of God Hospital
Nominated by Soroptimist International of Perth
Helen, the inaugural recipient of the Stella Giles Award for Excellence used the award to further her knowledge of the screening and detection of breast cancer in women at a Mammography Seminar to be held in Sydney. The Chief Radiographer at St. John of God Hospital commented that without the award Helen would have been unable to attend and that Helen intended to teach her new learned skills to other staff members so ultimately patients will benefit from the experience.
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