By Michael Doran
Three young Upper Yarra women are coming together to speak at the International Womens Day Lunch on Saturday 2 March. The lunch, presented by Women of Interest, is themed Young Women of the Future and will be at the Arts Centre Warburton.
The speakers, Georgia Strahan, Sarah Bamford and Hannah Mahoney are all young achievers in their own right and have demonstrated their strong commitment to making a difference in their communities.
Georgia Strahan is a founding member of the womens football team at Yarra Junction Football and Netball Club and has been involved in fundraising for the club since 2015. At the request of the cricket club she is working on forming a womens cricket team and is keen to develop the club’s community engagement and champion the equality of women.
She is studying online at Curtin University for a Bachelor of Education and at Inspire Learning for a Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care and was a student at Little Yarra Steiner School. She works in childcare at Only about Children in Woori Yallock and is expecting her second child in April.
Sarah Bamford lives in Warburton and is studying for a Bachelor of Science (Hons)/Master of Nanotechnology at La Trobe University after completing her secondary schooling in Lilydale. She completed a summer internship where the findings of her work were published in Analytical Chemistry journal.
She has volunteered as a mentor for In2science, travelling to a local low socio-economic school to teach maths and science to year 8 and 9 students. Sarah has a passion for environmental sustainability and hopes to reduce our impact on the planet in her future career. She also has a love of art and has been part of several local exhibitions.
Hannah Mahoney has just completed Year 12 at Upper Yarra Secondary College and in 2018 she was named Yarra Ranges Young Citizen of the Year. During her school life she volunteered with organisations such as the Redwood Community Centre and Koha Community Cafe.
Hannah has been involved in fundraising for communities and a veterinary clinic in Cambodia and for the Warburton Community Space. She is passionate about politics, social justice and animal rights and hopes to pursue a career in one of these fields.
The event is from 12- 3pm and entry is via a gold coin donation. Everybody needs to bring something for the shared luncheon and all are welcome on the day.
