Best of the West: Agent Nominations, Round 5!
Chris Minutillo, a disability advocate, Special Olympics medalist and soccer fanatic was the winner of our Best of the West competition last month. But who will take home the honours in December?
The nominations keep rolling in and we want you to have your say. Nominate someone you think deserves it and tune in Sunday 18 December during 9News at 6pm, when we announce our next winner.
In the meantime, we’d like to introduce you to two special organisations nominated by our very own agents here at The Agency.
What: Best of the West, Sponsored by The Agency and 9News
Where: 9News
When: Sunday 18 December during 9News at 6pm, and every 4th Sunday after that
Sailability
The Agency’s Emma Oliver is proud to nominate Sailability WA for this month’s Best of the West! Sailability is a global not-for-profit with chapters all around the world, including right here in Western Australia. They use sailing as a way to enrich the lives of people of all abilities: from the physically disabled to the elderly and the financially disadvantaged.
Sailability WA got its start following the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games when locals Noel Robbins, Jamie Dunross and Graeme Martin won the gold medal in the Sonar class keelboat.
Sailability WA has been changing peoples’ lives ever since. Volunteer Gary said it best:
“We have helped a lot of people discover sailing for the first time in their lives. We've taught them to sail, and they bought their own boats. They're now part of the mainstream community and the yachting club. They travel around the world for races… it's wonderful to see how it's changed people's lives. The best bit is when some of those sailors rise to the top of the ladder and end up winning gold medals at Paralympic sailing competitions or world championships. We've just got a young lady who's just returned from Doha, after having won third place in the world championships!”
As you can imagine, sailing is an expensive sport requiring lots of maintenance and repairs. This makes the all-volunteer Sailability an expensive program to operate. Winning $5,000 in the Best of the West competition would be a huge boon to the program, allowing them to replace their aging rescue boat as well as their floating dock, which is currently sinking.
If you'd like to help Sailability WA win this award, you can nominate them too! Just follow this link to nominate them or someone else you think deserves it.
Wheelchairs for Kids
The Agency’s Luca Marinovich is proud to nominate Wheelchairs for Kids for November’s Best of the West! Wheelchairs for Kids is an entirely volunteer-based not-for-profit organisation that manufactures and donates wheelchairs to disabled children around the world. Since 1998, the WA-based organisation has donated more than 54,000 wheelchairs to 90 locations globally.
These custom-designed chairs are built to withstand differing topographies in rugged locations like Afghanistan, Cambodia, Bosnia and Mozambique.
Here in Australia, the wheelchair actually grows with the child, and the children will get new wheelchairs as they grow out of their old ones.
Volunteer Olly says it’s hard for the organisation to keep up with the demand, and that winning the $5,000 Best of the West prize would allow them to provide an additional 20 wheelchairs to children around the world - offering these children dignity, mobility and the ability to play with their friends.
You can help Wheelchairs for Kids win the prize by throwing another nomination their way. Just follow this link to nominate them or someone else you think is deserving.
Help us choose the next Best of the West!
Do you know someone as deserving as Sailability or Wheelchairs for Kids? Then we want to hear from you!
Maybe it’s the:
- Parent who hosts a children’s book club at the local library.
- Folks who work tirelessly at the local food bank.
- Group of children planting trees for a sustainable future.
- Individual who is suffering from an illness, but still takes time to raise awareness and help others in a similar situation.
Whoever it is, you can nominate them by clicking this link. Nominate as many individuals, organisations or community groups that you want. Just be sure to explain what makes them so special and why they deserve this award.