Recognised for My Heart:The Agape Heart of Women Awards

Community & Heart

Being seen not for what you achieve, but for who you choose to be.

About Agape Outreach

Some organisations exist on paper. Agape Outreach exists in the early mornings, in car parks, on street corners, anywhere a vulnerable person needs to feel that someone cares. Founded on January 26th, 2009, by Theresa Mitchell, Agape began simply: Theresa could no longer walk past people on the street, so she started cooking meals in her own kitchen and handing them out.

Today, Agape is based in Tweed Heads on Recreation Street, with more than 200 volunteers and 4 employees, mostly retirees and university students with a genuine heart for people. They operate between Byron Bay and Runaway Bay, providing over 800 hot meals weekly to vulnerable people, along with a wide range of other services.

"Agape" comes from Ancient Greek and means unconditional love, a profound, sacrificial love that persists regardless of circumstance. That is exactly what they pass on, every single day.

There are no church services, no conditions, no preaching. Just love and action. Volunteers and clients from every walk of life and belief are welcome. It is, in the truest sense, unconditional.

A nomination I didn't see coming

The Agape Heart of Women Awards exist to identify and acknowledge outstanding women who demonstrate courage, passion, enthusiasm, and generosity across our community. I had no idea I was going to be nominated. I only found out once I was told it had already happened.

My first assumption was that it was for my work with Oh MG, raising awareness for the rare disease Myasthenia Gravis, uniting the community and uplift others living with it. I figured I was being recognised for something I was doing for the community

.

Then I found out who had nominated me, and I asked her: What did you say in the nomination?

Her answer stopped me in my tracks.

"Chloe I have known and worked with you for years. You have every reason to be angry with the world. Every reason to scream at the sky, be angry at the unfairness of it all. But you just don't. You are so positive and happy. You shine. And not only that, I use what precious little energy you have to help others."

She wasn't nominating me for a campaign or a cause. She nominated me for who I am and who I chose to be. That is something I had never considered.

The award I won, and why it means everything

The Heart Award: Theresa's personal discretionary award

Created by Agape founding director Theresa Mitchell, given entirely at her discretion to someone in the community living, working, and giving with incredible heart and compassion. Theresa steps back from judging the main awards because she knows so many nominees personally, and then steps forward with this one.

I didn't win Woman of the Year. I wasn't expecting to. But Theresa, who absents herself from judging because she knows so many of the nominees, creates her own special category. Her own award, given at her discretion, to someone she believes embodies extraordinary heart.

That is the award I won.

It means so much more to me. I would much rather be recognised for my heart and compassion, for my conscious, deliberate choice to live every day to the fullest and make the world better simply because I was in it.

Why this work hits close to home

I've needed time to recover and reflect on the Heart of Women Awards. And part of that reflection is being honest about something personal.

I know what it is to face the monthly question of "do we have to sell the house?" I know what it is to request food hampers, to shop at charity groceries where the best-before dates have long passed and you just cut the mouldy bits off the vegetables.

So when Theresa talks about the work Agape does, it doesn't feel distant to me. They don't just give food to people who are homeless. They help people feel seen and loved when they are at their most vulnerable. That matters enormously.

Theresa told us something that hasn't left me. She said she used to be able to help people off the streets and into homes. Now all she can do is hand out tents. The financial strain gripping our nation is causing homelessness to skyrocket, and it costs her just 60 cents to give someone a hot meal. But if she doesn't have that 60 cents, she can't give anyone a meal.

What I'm doing

I try to live by the Barefoot Investor's ethos: spend, save, give. Savings haven't been possible for a while, but I can still give. So I set up a small direct deposit once a month, the equivalent of a cup of coffee.

That one cup of coffee a month equals 10 meals for people who need them. 10 meals that wouldn't exist without it.

I encourage everyone reading this to think about whether they could do the same. A small amount, given consistently, makes a genuinely significant difference to an organisation like Agape.

Support Agape Outreach

Every dollar goes directly to providing meals and services for vulnerable people across the Northern Rivers and Gold Coast.

60c = 1 hot meal $6 = 10 meals $24 = 40 meals a month

Visit agapeoutreach.com.au to donate or find out more.

Written with gratitude for Agape Outreach, for Theresa Mitchell, and for the person who saw something in me worth nominating.