NICOLLE EDWARDS
WHAT doesn’t Nicolle Edwards’ powerful not-for-profit Rizeup Australia do ... that is really the question.
From helping create fully-furnished homes and providing vital resources for children beginning again at new schools to covering the cost of specialist counselling and medical support, Rizeup is an instrumental piece of the trauma recovery puzzle for families fleeing domestic and family violence.
Under her are 750 empassioned volunteers and counting, as Rizeup continues its expansion not just in Australia but in New Zealand.
To give a sense of just exactly what a crucial and empathetic role Rizeup plays, consider this from her Women of the Year awards nomination: “As families traverse the journey from danger through to safety, Rizeup walks alongside them to create safe, bright new beginnings.”
And also: “Nicolle’s energy and drive are endless and inspire many of us to want to give more to our communities and make a change.”
To get a sense of the woman herself, consider a CV of accolades: a TEDX speaker, Westfield Hero twice over, a participant in the Commonwealth
Games 2018 Queen’s Baton Relay, the 201 7 recipient of the Excellence in Volunteer Management Award (Queensland Volunteering Awards).
Her message to those whose lives are touched by Rizeup’s selfless efforts on their behalf is: “To all victim survivors of domestic and family violence, I recognise the impact of trauma, violence and abuse on your physical, mental and social health. I pay my respect to you and I value the wisdom of your lived experience.”
It is one of the scourges of the Gold Coast, domestic violence. It became so bad with such shocking incidents in recent years that the Gold Coast police started a special department to tackle it, the Domestic Violence Taskforce, auditing domestic violence callouts and essentially trying to identify the so-called ticking time bombs in the community.
Ms Edwards’ Rizeup recognises the scale of the problem, partnering up with specialist domestic and family violence services.
Herself? She’s described as generous, warm, direct, engaging and supportive. Her passion for charity work began in 2012 after assisting a woman set up a house after leaving a violent relationship. It became clear to Ms Edwards, a proud Aussie born in South Africa, that there were key pieces missing in the delivery of assistance to victims of domestic and family violence. And Rizeup was born.
SAMANTHA STENBERG
The founder of the National Disaster Management Services, an innovative model that helps mobilise members of communities struck by disaster, says the awards period helped “showcase” the NDMS: “I am passionate about utilizing members of the public’s skillset to assist communities when hit by a disaster. I was laughed at when I said gaps in public emergency management could be filled better with a specialist trained NonGovernment Organisation and community-led response that contextualises and risk assesses dynamically to the specific disaster and community.”
MANUELA WHITFORD
Has helped thousands through her Friends with Dignity not-for-profit aimed at providing practical help for survivors of domestic assault. This South African mother of three says what makes her tick is “helping people and making the world a better place”. “I am passionate and committed to social justice and love working within the social enteprise space. I have helped over 5000 people and distributed $8 million worth of furniture and household items to those in need. I’m so honoured to have been recognised not only for myself but for my equally passionate dedicated colleagues, donors and most of all volunteers who I could not do this work without.”
As families traverse the journey from danger through to safety, Rizeup walks alongside them