Meet Our 2010 World Of Difference Participants

A bit about Ellen Sandell

Cause: Australian Youth Climate Change (AYCC)

Ellen Sandell, from Flemington, Victoria, will be spending a year of her life pursuing her vision to tackle political apathy and rally young Australians to take serious action against climate change.

As a passionate supporter of educating young people on the effects of climate change, Ellen has volunteered for the Australian Youth Climate Coalition for the past three years. The organisation is the largest environmental charity focussed on youth in Australia.

For the next year, Ellen will devote her time to managing and coordinating major campaigns to raise awareness about climate issues, particularly the Project Survival Pacific program which aims to engage and support young Pacific Islanders taking action against climate change.

For more information on the Australian Youth Climate Coalition please go to their website; www.aycc.org.au

A bit about Mort Shearer

Cause: Australian Mens Shed Association

Mort is now able to devote 100% of his energy to his position as National President of the Australian Men's Sheds Association. Health experts from across the country concede that the issue of men's health and well-being is one that needs to be addressed. Mort, and his army of 600 volunteers, provide a comfortable environment where men can work on their hobbies and community projects in the company of others in a boss free environment and have the opportunity to learn about their own health and wellbeing.

He added: "Men's Sheds provides an almost unique opportunity to reach out to groups of men in a way that is acceptable to them — whilst women talk face-to-face, men prefer to talk whilst working together shoulder-to-shoulder. I will now be able to visit all Sheds across Australia to listen to their needs and ensure we have effective management teams in place so the men have the best possible guidance. I will also build alliances with government representatives, businesses and other not-for-profit organisations."

For more information on The Australians Mens Sheds Association please go to their website; www.menssheds.org

A bit about Kristina Karasulas

Cause: Gunawirra

Sydneysider Kristina Karasulas has been given the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to put her event management business on hold for a year to devote all her energy to improving pre-school support and services for indigenous families with children under the age of five through a unique charity called Gunawirra.

Kristina will spend the next 12 months travelling to a number of communities throughout NSW to ensure strong links between preschools and indigenous families, as well as developing the large force of volunteers they have on board to help with this valuable charity.

Kristina explains; "We have a variety of key events taking place over the next year including book launches, film launches and centre openings and I now have the resources to carry out a host of tasks that would otherwise have been impossible to achieve."

For more information on Gunawirra please go to their website; www.gunawirra.org.au/

A bit about Jade McKenzie

Cause: The Warick Foundation

Jade McKenzie has been given the freedom to put her office manager career on-hold to pursue her dream of working full-time to provide much needed support to young Australians suffering from cancer.

Jade will work for a year for the Warwick Foundation - Australia's only charitable organisation focused on helping young adults with cancer - connecting young people who are going through similar experiences with the disease.

A significant project for The Warwick Foundation currently is the "Mates in My Shoes" program - a program dedicated to linking those that have been diagnosed with cancer with survivors of the same age throughout Australia.

Jade explains her own involvement: "After seeing loved ones go through their own cancer journeys, I learnt very quickly that cancer doesn't discriminate. Despite the disease affecting so many young Australians, I discovered that there is a fundamental lack of support, guidance, information and care for young adults and their families. This is why the Warwick Foundation is so important and why I've chosen to dedicate myself to this cause."

For more information on the Warwick Foundation please go to their website; www.thewarwickfoundation.org.au

A bit about Grace McQuilton

Cause: The Social Studio

Grace McQuilten, from Carlton, Melbourne has been given the freedom to put her tertiary teaching career on-hold for a year, as she pursues her dream of creating employment and training opportunities in the fashion world for young refugees in Australia.

Grace is dedicated to creating social change through innovative design and social enterprise. In order to do this, she created the Social Studio, a social enterprise dedicated to creating employment and educational pathways for refugee youth who have dropped out of education or are unemployed. The main focus of the studio is clothing design where young trainees learn clothing production skills, creating original garments from off cuts from mainstream stores like Sportsgirl. Grace has also secured the backing from several high-profile personalities such as designer Mariana Hardwick and fashion journalist Lee Lin Chin.

For more information on The Social Studio, please go to their website; www.thesocialstudio.org