Australia Day Ambassadors announced

Preparations for Australia Day celebrations in the Hilltops region are underway, with four ambassadors set to visit the area to help residents and visitors mark the annual event.

Tour de Cure co-founders Samantha Hollier and Geoff Coombes OAM of Tour De Cure have been announced as the Australia Day Ambassadors for Boorowa, Founder of Good360 Australia philanthropist and social entrepreneur, Alison Covington will be on hand in Harden, while Olympian Sprint Kayaker and motivation speaker Jo Brigden-Jones OLY will be in Young.

The National Australia Day Council recruits hundreds of Australia Day Ambassadors who volunteer their time to attend Australia Day ceremonies across the country to help inspire pride and celebration in local communities.

Statistics provided by the National Australia Day Council show that Australia Day is a hugely popular celebration, with more than half of all Australians attending Australia Day organised events by Governments, local Councils, community groups or getting together with family and friends. There are also several people who will have Australian citizenship conferred at Young on the day.

Event information for Australia Day celebrations across the Hilltops region – including Australia Day Award ceremonies – will be listed on Hilltops Council’s website and social media pages in the new year.

Samantha Hollier (Boorowa) - Ms. Samantha Hollier-James, co-founder of Tour de Cure learned from her loving mother and Nan that caring for others together, creates a strong community and better life. Her upbring nurtured her self-belief and ability to reach out and share ideas and create big dreams. When her beloved Nan developed bowel cancer and died, Samantha became determined to forge a movement to cure cancer. Fourteen years ago, with friends Geoff Coombes and Gary Bertwistle, she co-created Tour de Cure, a charity that has already raised over $60 million and funded 502 cancer research, support and prevention projects. Tour de Cure also established a kids’ cancer prevention project that has encouraged more than 110,000 Australian school children, across all states and communities, to be fit, healthy and happy. Excitingly, Tour De Cure will be visiting the Hilltops in March 2022.

Geoff Coombes OAM (Boorowa) - In 2007 with friends Gary Bertwistle, and Samantha Hollier-James, Geoff established the now iconic Tour de Cure with their first Tour de Cure ride, from Brisbane to Sydney, bringing together 29 people and raising just over $400,000. Today, Tour de Cure is much more than a bike ride, now hosting over 10,000 people each year on walks, charity rides and gala events raising over $12m per annum. Tour de Cure engages communities around Australia to learn that 1 in 3 cancers are preventable. COVID-19 has impacted Tour de Cure fundraising but not their spirit and conviction to keep fighting cancer and engaging communities continues.

Alison Covington (Harden) - Alison Covington brought the Good360 charity to Australia, which offers the retail sector a sustainable, community-focused option to redirect surplus product from landfill. The charity inspires all Australians to ensure that every brand-new product must have a ‘first life’ use – nothing useful to lie unused or go to waste. Good360 is Australia’s largest on-line marketplace, matching business’ surplus brand-new goods to people most in need and in just six years, over 300 retailers and manufacturers have signed on and donated over $205 million in brand new products. Their network of almost 3,000 member charities and disadvantaged schools Australia-wide, across 31 cause areas, order the goods they need from the Good360 website with the ease of 24/7 access. Thanks to Alison’s business model and vision, more than 24 million brand-new items have been matched to people in need, helping to provide dignity and equality. Good360 Australia can be found on Instagram @good360_australia and Facebook @Good360Australia

Jo Brigden-Jones OLY (Young) - Olympian and elite athlete in the sport of sprint kayaking, Jo has represented Australia in international competitions all around the world. Her highlight was racing at the 2012 Olympic Games in London where her K4 crew placed 9th. Jo is classed as one of Australia’s most versatile paddlers, having raced in all sprint and boat classes in World Championship and World Cup events. Her dedication and years of training has reaped many rewards including a World Championship medal, multiple World Cup medals and 38 Australian National Titles. Jo has had many successes in the sport, as well as many challenges.

For more information about our Ambassadors and Australia Day celebrations in the Hilltops visit: https://www.hilltops.nsw.gov.au/community/australia-day/

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• Australia Day