City of Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp has announced philanthropic duo Simone and Ian Carson the 2018 Melburnians of the Year.
The Carsons were given the honour in recognition for their work founding renowned Melbourne non-profit organisation SecondBite, which gives food to people in need.
"I'm thrilled Simone and Ian Carson have been awarded our city's highest accolade and named Melburnians of the Year," the Lord Mayor said.
"The Carsons are incredibly deserving winners and have contributed an enormous amount to under privileged people in Melbourne. When they first started SecondBite in 2005, it was run by three volunteers in Victoria and moved just over 600kg of food a year.
"Since then, it has grown at an astounding rate and recently reached a milestone of 50 million kilograms of food rescued and redistributed for people in need across Australia.
The Carsons were announced winners on Saturday at the annual Melbourne Awards Gala Ceremony at Town Hall.
Now a national organisation, SecondBite redistributes food to more than 1,300 community organisations free of charge. Since its inception in 2005, it has delivered food for more than 100 million healthy nutritious meals and this year alone is on track to deliver food for over 40 million meals.
Simone Carson AM said SecondBite's purpose has never changed.
"Our aim is to protect the dignity of those most impacted by poverty and disadvantage, while at the same time reducing waste, landfill and emissions," Mrs Carson said.
"This award will create more awareness for this cause, and get us all further down the road to eventually ending hunger and ending waste," said Simone Carson.
Ian Carson AM said SecondBite is a great Melbourne story. "It is about volunteers, successive Melbourne city councils, businesses, and philanthropists coming together to solve a problem in society. It has become a story about all that is good about Melbourne," said Ian Carson.
A number of other organisations were also honoured as part of the awards. "It is fantastic to be able to celebrate the achievements of so many people working for organisations that are making Melbourne a better place to live and visit," the Lord Mayor said.
See below for a full list of winners.
2018 MELBOURNE AWARDS WINNERS
PROFILE AWARD – COMMUNITY ORGANISATION
MPavilion
MPavilion is a cultural hub that promotes and profiles Melbourne as Australia's creative capital and international design destination.
PROFILE AWARD – CORPORATION
Club Melbourne Ambassador Program - Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre
The Club Melbourne Ambassador Program is an invitation-only group of Melbourne's elite thinkers and leaders, who work together voluntarily to establish, secure and host international business events to promote our local expertise around the world.
COMMUNITY AWARD – COMMUNITY ORGANISATION
Laneway Learning Pty Ltd
Laneway Learning Pty Ltd has countless health and wellbeing benefits that empowers Melburnians to share their passions and become lifelong learners through fun, accessible classes.
COMMUNITY AWARD – CORPORATION
In Harmony with Health
In Harmony with Health has brought 20 years of music therapy joy at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. The service provides more than 2,000 music therapy sessions at the patient's bedside each year, bring happiness and improving people's quality of life.
MULTICULTURALISM AWARD – COMMUNITY ORGANISATION
The Water Well Project
The Water Well Project is an Australian not-for-profit and registered health promotion charity that aims to improve the health and wellbeing of migrants from refugee backgrounds.
MULTICULTURALISM AWARD – CORPORATION
Chin Communications
A Chinese translating and interpreting company that has for 26 years provided critical links for businesses and governments engaging with China and the Chinese community in Australia.
SUSTAINABILITY AWARD
Melbourne Cricket Club
Melbourne Cricket Club has invested significantly in sustainability, introducing a new waste management policy including an innovative organics dehydrator.
Melburnians of the Year
Simone and Ian Carson
For their work founding renowned Melbourne non-profit organisation SecondBite.
