Four Greek Australians named in 2022 Westfield Local Heroes

Two Greek Australians devoted to their New South Wales communities have been awarded with a $20,000 grant each after being named as 2022 Westfield Local Heroes.

Westfield Parramatta’s Local Hero grant recipient was Jason Sotiris, a father who turns sick children into superheros with his hospital gowns.

NSW based Sotiris is the founder of SuperTee, a charity that has donated over 8000 functional hospital garments that make a child patent’s life easier as they transform into a bib and have openings for tubes.

Mr Sotiris came up with the ides during his daughter’s battle with multi-system Langerhans cell histiocytosis.

“We aim to help little heroes fight the big battles,” says Jason. His slogan is: “Every superhero deserves a costume.”

As more parents and hospital staff find out about SuperTee, demand grows, to the point the team cannot keep up. However, Jason is still setting goals to reach as many children as possible.

“I’m very proud of how far we’ve come. My dream would be to introduce it to Greece one day,” he told Neos Kosmos in a recent interview. “Down the track we hope to be able to make this an international project, a gift available for every child in need around the world. And, who knows? Why not adults, too? Strength through imagination. That’s what we want to offer.”With the $20,000 award, another 445 new Supertee Marvel edition garments will be delivered to the Sydney Children’s Hospital at Westmead.

Westfield Sydney’s Local Hero was named social worker Katrina Ikonomou, a proud Greek-Dharug woman who goes above and beyond to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and children in the Inner West.

As a Dharug Clinical Manager at Gunawirra, Ms Ikonomou manages a community-led organisation where cultural advisers and therapists work together to provide culturally appropriate healing services.

He work is heavily focused on programs that support young Aboriginal mothers and 26 preschool communities with speech therapy, art therapy, occupational therapy and social work services.This is partly a recognition for her work during the COVID-19 lockdowns, where she tirelessly sourced computers, food and art supplies for families in need.

“I am passionate about my people, and I want women to feel supported so they can be the best mothers to their children,” Ms Ikonomou said, adding that she will use the grant to fund much-needed additional clinician time and invest in further training to be able to support her community.

In congratulating the Local Heroes, Scentre Group National Community Experience Manager, Pam Wilson, described the recipients as “inspirational,” noting the awards “continue to recognise and reward everyday people doing extraordinary work in our communities.”

Two more Greek Australians from NSW were recognised in the awards as finalists and have received $5000 grants for their respective organisations.

Karen Tsoumbaras, employment education and training manager at Project Youth was named Finalist for Westfield Miranda, for being “a beacon of hope for hundreds of young people facing long-term unemployment”.

Ms Tsoumbaras who guides people aged 12 to 24 to help them access education that improves their employment prospects said that the $5000 grant “will be put towards the operational costs of Project Youth’s training and education programs, as well as the purchase of computers, work clothes and tools to be used by students”.

Last but not least, was Teach Us Consent founder, Chanel Contos who was named Westfield Bondi Junction’s finalist.

Contos, who since launching the Teach Us Consent petition has received multiple awards for raising awareness and changing the sexual consent narrative in the Eastern Suburbs and across Australia and helping sexual assault survivors find their voice and instigating education reform.

Thanks to Contos, consent education will be mandatory in Australian schools, starting early and continuing until Year 10. The $5000 grant her organisation has received will be allocated to increase the reach of existing campaigns.