It was a full house full of Awesome energy last Wednesday night at the Young Street Hotel for Awesome Newcastle. We welcomed  guest board members Scott McShane of Reflections Holiday Park and Adam Bower of Land and Housing Corporation as our guest board members.

Our fantastic finalists were Emma Griffin of the Livefree Project, Tina Irving of Hunter Multicultural Communities and Barbara Cowley of Girls Who Roar.

Emma went first.  She told us LIVEfree Project is a grassroots not-for-profit and her idea is The Backyard Brekky program. This is a weekly community breakfast initiative designed to address food insecurity and social isolation among Newcastle’s most vulnerable populations. Each week, they provide a free, nutritious hot breakfast to approximately 60 individuals from low socio-economic backgrounds. They would use the money to purchase essential food like eggs, sausages, bread, milk, fresh fruit to prepare a hot, balanced breakfast each week for community members.

Tina went next. She explained that she is partnering with Slow Food Hunter Valley and Hunter Multicultural Communities to build a fortnightly Village Market Experience that connects both worlds. Through food culture, they plan to connect and activate Newy’s incredibly rich cultural landscape. They would put the money toward the cost of venue hire $1000 per event and waste management.

Barb was our final finalist. She is the founder of Girls Who Roar, a 6-week online program for teenage girls, empowering them to embrace their uniqueness and be resilient and confident in themselves. They want girls everywhere to hear a message that instils confidence and courage to have real and healthy relationships. They would use the money to make the program available at zero cost to Newcastle schools.

The judges discussed, debated and cast their votes. Congratulations Barb from Girls Who Roar! We love what you’re doing and are proud to help fund such an inspiring initiative. Thank you also to Tina and Emma for your great ideas. Remember, applications never expire so we might get you back again for another Awesome Newcastle!