Another Awesome Newcastle came and went last Wednesday night at the Young Street Hotel! We welcomed several guest board members including Kate King of Katalyst, Fiona Morris of The Better Clean Team, Nick Kalaf of Tribe Bikes and the wonderful Jan Bynon.

Our finalists were Vanessa Neri from Leg Up project, Tess Lehman with her podcast “Wish My Mother Told Me” and Mitch Sweeney of EmryApp.

Mitch went first. He works in digital product development, and he spoke about how gambling is having a negative impact on our community. He and his team created Emry, a private AI companion for adults affected by gambling. Rather than replacing professional support, it provides ongoing support between appointments and in the moments when no one else is available. He would use the money to introduce Emry through local gambling support services, community organisations, GP clinics and community events.

Tess went next. She’s a mum, photographer and disability support worker. She has just created her her fourth podcast, all about the conversations you maybe never had with a parent, the conversations you wish someone had had with you before you found yourself in that situation. She would use the money to help pay for some mentorship.

Vanessa was our final finalist. She’s a recovering addict who met Glen Fisher a couple of years ago; Glen started the Leg Up Project in Sydney. The Leg Up Project is a small charity run by volunteers who support numerous homeless camps by providing hot meals, tents and tarps, clothes new underwear, socks and toiletries. Since March she’s brought the project up to Newcastle and has been helping people camped out all over the region. She would use the money to buy more toiletries, socks and underwear for people in need.

As always, it was a tough challenge, but the board discussed and deliberated and then Kate handed the money over to Vanessa! Congratulations Vanessa for your hard work you give to this worthy cause, and we are so happy to play a small part in helping people sleep a little bit warmer this winter. Congratulations to Tess and Mitch as well for your worthy pitches.

Remember, applications never expire, so there’s a chance we might get you back again soon for another Awesome Newcastle.