Get Off The Bench Podcast

Sarah Dowell spent several years working across East Africa for organisations tackling extreme poverty. Time and time again, she witnessed the frustrations that charities face, when programs that are making positive impact, are halted by a lack of funding.

Living back in Australia, she simultaneously saw the power of social enterprise. 

The simple link between purchasing products from social enterprises, and these brands financially supporting charities, provided that continuation of funding that was so often missing. 

Sarah saw an opportunity to find and support grass-root social enterprises and create a marketplace where consumers could genuinely make a positive impact in the world, simply through the products they bought. 

This was the birth of ‘Asanti’, an online platform for brands that give back, with a purpose to inspire consumers to have a positive impact through everyday purchases.

‘Asanti’ is Swahili for “Thank you”. This language is spoken by tens of millions of people across East Africa, crossing borders and bringing people together from a host of nations.

‘Asanti’ was chosen in the spirit of uniting Australians with the people of developing countries and sharing in a common goal to make our world a better place.

Socials:

Website: Asanti  https://www.asanti.com.au/

FB: Asanti @shopasanti

Insta: shopasanti 

LinkedIn: Sarah Dowell 

Mentions:

Heartprint

Thank You

Who Gives A Crap 

Good Frances 

Startup Gippsland 

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Kasha Sequoia Slavner is a Gen-Z, multi-award-winning first-time documentary filmmaker who comes to the profession as a seasoned photographer, entrepreneur and social justice advocate for over a decade. She was only 16 years old when she set out across the world for six months to make The Sunrise Storyteller and completed it upon returning to high school. 

Using her passion for visual storytelling to make the world a better place, she was selected as the recipient of the very first Kim Phuc Youth Award for Peace . In addition, Kasha was selected for the class of 2017 Global Teen Leaders by legendary music producer Nile Rodgers’  We Are Family Foundation & TEDxTeen and was also selected into the inaugural cohort of the We Global Learning Centre's new social entrepreneurship program.  In 2018 she was chosen by Yunus & Youth as one of their Fellows and in 2019 selected by Global Changemakers to join their cohort. 

Most recently this committed changemaker became a Diana Award Holder, for sustaining positive social change in the memory of Diana, Princess of Wales. In 2019 she was chosen to be part of the inaugural launch of projects selected for the  Voices of SDG16+ at the United Nations High Level Political Forum.  In September 2019, she was spoke to over 750+ students at the United Nations for The International Day of Peace Student Observance on the topic of climate & peace. 

Recently she became a 2021 Climate Ambassador of the Global Youth Climate Network and a liaison for the One Better World Collective.  Kasha is an 11x UN Youth Delegate, presenter, adjudicator and a long-time member of The Canadian Voice of Women for Peace, the former Ontario Regional Advisor for the Canadian Council of Young Feminists. She is a frequent public speaker and is an accredited expert for the  Women's Media Center, a non-profit co-founded by Gloria Steinem, Jane Fonda and Robin Morgan.

In addition, Kasha tours with a 32 piece photography exhibition “Travels into the Heart” and has completed a second large scale exhibit about Sustainable Development Goal #16 (Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions) - The exhibition is entitled Picture 16©  At 17 Kasha wrote & published her first 200+ page book of photography “Reflections of the Sunrise Storyteller – A Journey into the Heart as a Global Citizen”. She's a frequent public speaker, has been commissioned by  National Geographic Learning, is a contributor to Thrive Global, The Huffington Post, Good Magazine, Matador Network & appeared in several podcasts.  

The Sunrise Storyteller is the young filmmaker’s first feature-length documentary, which she directed, filmed, scripted and edited. Since it’s release in 2017 it has screened at 60+ festivals and won 30 awards, including the Ron Kovic Peace Prize for the segment on Vietnam napalm survivor Kim Phuc, as well as the Eva Haller, Women Transforming Media Award. 

Currently, Kasha is in development with her second feature documentary “1.5 Degrees of Peace” which is fiscally sponsored by The Redford Center.

Socials:

Website: The Global Sunrise Project 

Website: The Sunrise Storyteller (film)

Website: 1.5 Degrees of Peace (film)

FB: The Global Sunrise Project 

FB: The Sunrise Storyteller 

Insta: globalsunrisers

Twitter: M&K @GlobalSunRisers 

LinkedIn: Kasha Sequoia Slavner 

Mentions:

The Ghosts In Our Machine (documentary)

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Kylie Miller has spent her career as an award-winning journalist and communications consultant. 

After trading the city life for a tree change in East Gippsland, Kylie experienced first-hand the devastating bushfires of the 2019-20 Australian summer. 

Her first children’s picture book, Heroes of Black Summer, co-written by Craig Sheather and illustrated by Karen Erasmus, tells stories of heroism, courage, resilience, and generosity as the community recovered from the disaster. The book provides fire-affected communities with a tool to support healing and recovery, to help children process the trauma. 

Kylie has spent the past 18 months restoring her fire-affected Wairewa property and working on a picture book series for Laneway Press. 

She lives by the Gippsland Lakes with her partner, Brett, two rescued greyhounds Teddy and Dotty and a 16-year-old cat called Molly. Molly is the boss of them all.

Socials:

Website: Cupcake Communications  http://cupcakecommunications.com.au/

LinkedIn: Kylie Miller 

Heroes of Black Summer (book)

Mentions:

Nowa Nowa General Store

Gippsland Primary Health Network

Bushfire Recovery Victoria

Gippsland Emergency Relief Fund

DELWP

Parks Victoria

Victoria Police

Country Fire Authority (CFA)

Laneway Press

Australian Geographic

Sparky The Wonder Puppy (book) - Craig Sheather

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Charlotte Le Hardy is the Modern Day Magi. She is an award nominated creative educator, business strategist, and transformation coach passionate about crafting a better world for people and planet. She is on a mission to drive forwards a new era of collective wellbeing and planetary prosperity.

Charlotte was a Course Leader in Fashion Communication and Promotion at the University of Suffolk, and is now a Lecturer in Fashion Business and Marketing at Norwich University of the Arts, which one of the world’s leading creative arts universities. She is also a Lecturer in Business Management and Leadership at the School of Higher Education at CCN teaching on University of East Anglia validated degree programs.

She believes the symbiotic relationship between business leaders, brands and consumers can be harnessed to make systemic change, and she is here to help initiative positive change, cultivate happiness and empower people to navigate challenges, so that together we can thrive as global citizens.

Through her creative solutions and strategic initiatives, Charlotte empowers people and organisations to make positive social and environmental impact. Striving to bring awareness to the power of our minds and how we can harness our creativity to craft a better world, her work shines a light on a new future of prosperity for all.

Charlotte has been acclaimed by the Human Givens Institute and featured in their peer reviewed journal for writing a Ba (Hons) Fashion Communication degree program that strategically aligns with the Human Givens principles, the United Nations Higher Education Sustainability Initiative and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

She is also the UK Ambassador for the One better World Collective.

Charlotte delivers educational lectures, seminars and practical workshops that spark real change.

Socials:

LinkedIn: Charlotte Le Hardy (The Modern Day Magi)

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Steve Noble was born and bred in Gippsland (Regional Victoria), which meant Steve spent his after-school hours working on his parents farm. Upon leaving school, Steve had many retail jobs including furniture and car sales, as well as stock feed, eventually becoming a fertiliser consultant with local company.

For many years Steve had dreams of owning his own clothing range, but the clothes he was supplying to local sporting clubs were not yielding enough of a margin to survive on.

In February 2020, Steve and his wife, Alice decided to launch Hugh Charles clothing as a side hustle to earn enough so that Alice didn’t have to go back to work after their son Timmy was born. 

It quickly grew far beyond a side hustle, and by August 2020 Steve had quit his day job to pursue the business full time. 

Growth is still amazing and currently the business is consistently selling 300-350 shirts and vests per month throughout Australia, and occasionally abroad.

Socials:

Website: https://www.hughcharles.com.au/

FB: Hugh Charles Clothing  @hughcharlesclothing  

Insta: Hugh Charles Clothing  hugh_charles_clothing  

LinkedIn: Stephen Noble 

Mentions:

Startup Gippsland

Patagonia

Laurence O’Toole

Mick Harrington

The Voice

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Toni Lontis a Lifestyle Entrepreneur, Author, Speaker, Blogger and International Tour Host

She is also an inspirational woman who has dedicated her life’s work to helping women and the men who love them, find their passion, purpose and voice.

Toni's career began in the Health Care Sector where she practiced as a registered nurse. Toni witnessed many lives that needed change, support, encouragement, empathy and most importantly love. She gave all that and thrived in this field.

Despite having a wonderful career, her personal life was filled with dysfunction and trauma. The recovery and work she did on herself to heal and find happiness, formed the basis of her book, ‘Resilience – Memoir of a Broken Little Girl’, which helped her to discover the real Toni - a woman of strength and beauty. 

After the publication of her book, Toni starting to grow her voice and quickly became a Public Figure, creating awareness about domestic violence, sexual abuse and social-emotional and cognitive health. Her passion and energy grew a large following and this birthed many other things in her life; her Radio Toni live show, her podcasts, talks sessions, TV show, and mentoring began to experience growth. 

From the platform of Radio Toni, she support victims of verbal, physical, sexual abuse and any traumatic event in their lives, to tell their stories, helping many find inner peace and healing.

Toni has escaped from the bounds of low self-worth, anger and pain from a dysfunctional childhood marred by a congenital facial defect, sexual assault, verbal abuse, depression, anxiety and the failed flawed relationships that plagued her adult years. Toni wants to be a beacon of light in a dark world. I sign of hope after trauma.

Socials:

Website: Radio Toni https://radiotoni.com/

Website: Toni Lontis https://tonilontis.com/

LinkedIn: Toni Lontis

YouTube: Toni Lontis

FB: Radio Toni  @toniradiotoni 

Insta: Toni Lontis @tonimlontis 

Twitter: Toni Lontis

Pinterest: Toni Lontis

Mentions:

Talk 4 Media

Brene Brown

Matthew Pollard

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With 12 published books in 6 years, Dr Dan Eddy is one of Australia’s most prolific non-fiction authors. His authored and co-authored books include: 

King Richard: The Story of Dick Reynolds, (2017)

Larrikins & Legends, (2017)

Always Striving (2017),

The Norm Smith Medallists (2018),

and his latest book, Crimmo: The Peter Crimmins Story which was released in 2020.

Dan currently has a number of exciting book projects in the works, including the authorised biography of Hawthorn and Australian football legend Peter Hudson, plus the untold story of ‘Operation Payback’ - the failed merger between Hawthorn and Melbourne. 

He is also working closely with former Olympian and Parliamentarian, Nova Peris (OAM) on her latest autobiography.

Dan is also a mental health advocate, and in 2018, while speaking at the Hero Round Table conference, Dan opened this conversation publicly, revealing the personal challenges he has faced while dealing with major depression, anxiety and Asperger’s Syndrome.

Dan has a Master's degree through Victoria University (2013) and a PhD through Federation University Australia (2019). The South Gippsland-born storyteller has a passion for sports history and biography.

Dan and his son Ernie live in Leongatha, in Victoria’s picturesque Gippsland region, with their loyal sidekick, Dennis the border collie.

Socials:

Website: daneddybooks.com

FB: Dan Eddy Books 

Insta: Dan Eddy Books 

LinkedIn: Dr Dan Eddy 

Mentions:

Jeff Slattery - Slattery Media 

David Parkin

Jay Shetty

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Ian Speirs is the co-founder of ONE Better World Collective which is a non-profit organization and multi-platform initiative with a 10- year strategy to equip people everywhere to act upon the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 2030, through a transformational message of love, founded upon principals of human dignity and universal responsibility. In addition, Ian is presently establishing a parent project to ONE Better World Collective – EnSaTerra, a sustainability-focused incubator.

Ian is also the co-founder of a national NGO, ‘I Love First Peoples’ which works to support Indigenous peoples, providing Ian the opportunity to work directly with over 90 First Nations and Inuit communities.

Ian’s most memorable achievement is having brought Mother Teresa to Canada for the first time and spent four unforgettable days with her. 

More recently, Ian initiated an historic online event, uniting 13 cutting edge influencers and change-makers, to seek guidance from the Dalai Lama to deliver actionable hope for all of humanity.

Ian is the president of Elite Vision Communications, an artist and event management company through which he organizes national film and music tours. He is also a mentor and life coach to many.

Socials:

Website: ONE Better World Collective https://onebetterworld.org/

FB: ONE Better World Collective @OBWcollective

Insta: One Better World Collective  one_better_world_collective

Twitter: ONE Better World Collective 

Website: I Love First Peoples  https://www.ilovefirstpeoples.ca/

FB: I Love First Peoples   @ILOVEFIRSTPEOPLES

Insta: I Love First Peoples i_love_first_peoples

LinkedIn: Ian Speirs  https://www.linkedin.com/in/iainspeirs/

Email: [email protected]

Mentions:

Missionaries of Charity

Janome 

Baffinland

Better We, Better World 

Good 4 Global  

The Grizzlies (movie) 

Jacquie Pohl 

Dr Natalie Schmitt 

Andrea Bocelli 

Raheen Fatima 

Massey Whiteknife 

Hyper T

Emmanuel Jal 

Poutine - Canadian dish 

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Madeleine McKenzie is a cabaret singer who enjoys nothing more than bringing pure joy to audiences.

For the past 40 years she has been the show stopper with a variety of acts, including duos, trios and full bands. 

In 1988 Madeleine broke her neck in a car accident and decided  "I can still have kids - and I can still sing! So I did”. She rocked up to an audition with David Briggs from Little River Band and Peter Williams from The Groove and got the gig. 

The trio formed the act "Some Like It Hot”, and this gave Madeleine the courage and mindset to back herself to the point that she was not scared anymore to work with anyone.

Madeleine also got to work with UK singer, Allison Norfolk and 25 years on are still performing together.

During the bushfires in East Gippsland, Madeleine felt stressed in her day job selling Photocopiers which supplied copiers to businesses all over east Gippsland, and decided to leave to do something that makes her happy - sing! 

She started entertaining folks at nursing homes around Gippsland and then Covid 19 happened - so the next best thing to live - was recording live shows from home and sending them to the homes.

And then there’s Madeleine’s dad and super fan, who loved her singing and proudly announced to everyone at every garage sale - “Do you know my daughter? She sings!”

His sister has Alzheimers and lives in a care home and is one of Madeleine’s biggest fans. On a recent visit she remembered that Madeleine was a singer, which prompted Madeleine to leave her with a concert on her phone.

Madeleine’s business, Cabaret On Call, now provides online music to aged care facilities, and she says her heart couldn’t be more full.

Socials:

Website: https://www.cabaretoncall.com.au/

FB: Cabaret on Call

Insta: Cabaret on Call @cabaretoncall 

LinkedIn: Madeleine McKenzie 

Mentions:

Startup Gippsland

Work My Own Way

Central Gippsland Health

Edith Piaf

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Henry Darby is the principal at North Charleston High School in South Carolina, is considered nothing short of a guardian angel by many in his community.

Upon realising that many of his students were struggling financially, and some even being forced to sleep under a bridge or in their cars, Henry decide to do something about it.

But rather than expecting authorities to do something, he rolled up his sleeves and got a part time job at Walmart, stacking shelves three nights a week from 10pm to 7am, just so he could donate his pay check to his students in need.

Henry says "I was taught if your hands find something to do, do it. So I came to myself and said, 'Perhaps I need another job in terms of part-time.’”

His selfless actions have led to the community donating close to $100,000 to the school to help the students, as well as Walmart donating another $50,000.

Mentions:

ABC Eyewitness News story

Unsung Hero News story

Dr Martin Luther King 

Rosa Parks 

Viola Liuzzo 

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