Alicia Curtis, co-founder of 100 Women, with workshop participants from Girls from Oz.
Camera IconAlicia Curtis, co-founder of 100 Women, with workshop participants from Girls from Oz. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

Karawara volunteer named Community Citizen of the Year

Nadia BudihardjoSouthern Gazette

KARAWARA resident Alicia Curtis attended an international conference as a child, inspiring her to co-found her own charity, and she has been giving back to the community ever since.

Ms Curtis said attending a United Nation’s international children’s conference in England at 12 years old kick-started her volunteering.

After her trip to England, Ms Curtis decided to set up a conference at Perth Zoo in 1996.

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“I was this kid from Bullsbrook and then I was travelling to another part of the world,” she said.

“I remember as a 12-year-old going down to the City of South Perth to set up a kids’ conference.

“That conference kicked off Millennium Kids.”

Ms Curtis co-founded Millennium Kids, a non-profit organisation offering youth workshops.

Her next step was co-founding 100 Women, a giving circle collecting donations to give grants to community projects to empower women.

“We raised half a million dollars over the last five years,” she said.

“Last year, we gave four grants and were able to find local projects.”

Ms Curtis received the Auspire Community Citizen of the Year Award at the City of South Perth’s Australia Day ceremony.

She said both Millennium Kids and 100 Women started from simple ideas but turned into amazing organisations and movements.

“I would say volunteering gets addictive because you can see the tangible outcomes,” she said.

“People want to get involved in their community in different ways but they may not know where to start.

“A little bit of money can be a huge difference; anybody can be a philanthropist.”