A local volunteer has been awarded $20,000 by Westfield Penrith in recognition of her hard work in the community.
Beth Spanos has been a volunteer at the Penrith Community Kitchen for the last eight years and was this week recognised by the Westfield Local Heroes Program for all her work in the community.
Across Australia $1.25 million in community grants was given out to local heroes this week through the program.
Westfield Penrith Centre Manager Matilde Princiotta said the program is designed to recognise and encourage community service work in local communities.
“We’ve been overwhelmed this year by the community support and the strong number of both nominations and votes received here at Westfield Penrith,” Princiotta said.
“It is fantastic to see all the amazing work being done throughout our community, highlighted by the program and the level of engagement from our customers and our community is… very overwhelming and not a surprise at all in the Penrith community.
“We believe it is integral for Westfield Penrith to be an inclusive and welcoming place, which our community is proud to call their own.
“We are committed to discovering, celebrating and contributing to the things that our community values the most. Our Local Heroes’ Program is an integral part of this commitment and will remain a part moving forward.”
The runners-up both received a grant of $5,000 and included youth drug and alcohol counsellor at the Ted Noffs Foundation Joshua Montillano and Susan Bor, an advocate for children in crisis and a volunteer at Kassie’s Cases.
Spanos said the money will go toward a range of things at the Penrith Community Kitchen, including their popular local school program.
“We thought we would do the school program for six months and see how we’d go but it has just become so necessary to the schools from what they’ve come back and told us… but then we are just getting more and more people to the kitchen every day because of the cost-of-living so there’s going to be a tussle,” Spanos said.
“Our schools program is nearly $20,000 a month… so it’s going to give us either another month to keep the school program going, it’s going to be another three months of being able to feed people or it will go towards our big Christmas event.”
Spanos said getting the recognition will do more than provide money for the kitchen.
“It’s been going for over 30 years and it’s so wonderful to have a recognition such as this and a platform that people will know about it,” she said.
“The money is obviously going to help us a lot but it lets people know that there is a community kitchen if they are finding things a little bit tough.
“It can be a place for people to look for a bit of a helping hand.”
It’s also possible for local individuals and businesses to contribute to the Kitchen, to give people assistance at a difficult time.
“Even if you are picking too many oranges off your tree, there is a place you can take them. We want to get more donations and make more people aware of it,” she said.
Emily Chate
Emily Chate joined The Western Weekender in 2024, and covers local news - primarily courts and politics. A graduate of the University of Wollongong, Emily has contributed to The Daily Telegraph and worked as a freelance journalist.