How these cafe heroes are inspiring next generation of community champions
The pair run Stepping Stone, a social enterprise that began in Cartagena, Colombia, back in 2017, and shifted to Canberra amid the pandemic in 2020.
Their cafe helps female workers who are the sole income earners in their household, new arrivals to Australia, with limited English or minimal employment history, and those experiencing homelessness. The women develop skills and experience, which helps them get into the wider workforce.
Named Australia's Local Heroes at January's Australian of the Year Awards, they have barely had time to take a breath since.
A trip to the Northern Territory, to meet with other social enterprises and talk to schoolkids about their work, has marked another milestone for the couple - the first time they've been able to leave their staff in charge of the two bustling Stepping Stone cafes.
"It's a relief, it's such a sense of achievement," Ms Brettell said over the phone from Melbourne.
"It feels wonderful when we can go and everything works well. Obviously there are little hiccups, but we're on call, and that's all part of them growing. Us not being there actually enhances everyone's sense of responsibility and ownership over the businesses, and that sense of pride that they are responsible and can manage it without us."
Ms Brettell and Ms Costello, who met more than a decade ago working at a London pub, have been invited by the Northern Territory National Australia Day Council.
During Refugee Week, from June 15 to 21, they'll meet with another work integration social enterprise in Darwin and visit primary schools to present children with "Aussie of the month" awards.
AUSTRALIAN OF THE YEAR AWARDS: NOMINATE NOW!
"I think the main message that we want to get out to little kids is that if you see something that you want to change in your community, you can do it," Ms Costello said.
"Talk to the adults, talk to the people around you, and you can affect the change that you want to see, really."
Being named Australia's Local Heroes, apart from putting their enterprise on the map, had exposed them to new ways of thinking about their business and the people they helped and employed.
"That additional publicity has led to new opportunities for us, actually looking at growing and scaling the business, and I guess having the award behind us is really motivating," Ms Brettell said.
"It feels like we have a bit of responsibility to make the most of this year and take as many opportunities as we can for the women that work with us, but mostly for the women who are still waiting to work with us. We have about 60 women on our waiting list, so that's really the motivation to grow and scale the business this year."
They are looking at other ways to employ the many women who need jobs.
"We have a lot of women that we work with where hospitality isn't probably the environment for them," Ms Brettell said.
"It can be a very stressful environment with a lot of fast paced things changing all of the time. We have been very lucky to have people in the community that have different skills that they can bring to the table. We don't want to say too much just yet, because nothing's set in stone, but some wheels are moving in the direction of starting different types of businesses or starting different types of operations and training opportunities for the women that we work with."
Who inspires you? Who do you think should be our next Australian of the Year?
If you see them or hear about them, nominate them before July 31 for the 2026 Australian of the Year Awards at australianoftheyear.org.au.
They may officially be the country's local heroes, but cafe owners Vanessa Brettell and Hannah Costello are just happy to be away from the office.
The pair run Stepping Stone, a social enterprise that began in Cartagena, Colombia, back in 2017, and shifted to Canberra amid the pandemic in 2020.
Their cafe helps female workers who are the sole income earners in their household, new arrivals to Australia, with limited English or minimal employment history, and those experiencing homelessness. The women develop skills and experience, which helps them get into the wider workforce.
Named Australia's Local Heroes at January's Australian of the Year Awards, they have barely had time to take a breath since.
A trip to the Northern Territory, to meet with other social enterprises and talk to schoolkids about their work, has marked another milestone for the couple - the first time they've been able to leave their staff in charge of the two bustling Stepping Stone cafes.
"It's a relief, it's such a sense of achievement," Ms Brettell said over the phone from Melbourne.
"It feels wonderful when we can go and everything works well. Obviously there are little hiccups, but we're on call, and that's all part of them growing. Us not being there actually enhances everyone's sense of responsibility and ownership over the businesses, and that sense of pride that they are responsible and can manage it without us."
Ms Brettell and Ms Costello, who met more than a decade ago working at a London pub, have been invited by the Northern Territory National Australia Day Council.
During Refugee Week, from June 15 to 21, they'll meet with another work integration social enterprise in Darwin and visit primary schools to present children with "Aussie of the month" awards.
AUSTRALIAN OF THE YEAR AWARDS: NOMINATE NOW!
"I think the main message that we want to get out to little kids is that if you see something that you want to change in your community, you can do it," Ms Costello said.
"Talk to the adults, talk to the people around you, and you can affect the change that you want to see, really."
Being named Australia's Local Heroes, apart from putting their enterprise on the map, had exposed them to new ways of thinking about their business and the people they helped and employed.
"That additional publicity has led to new opportunities for us, actually looking at growing and scaling the business, and I guess having the award behind us is really motivating," Ms Brettell said.
"It feels like we have a bit of responsibility to make the most of this year and take as many opportunities as we can for the women that work with us, but mostly for the women who are still waiting to work with us. We have about 60 women on our waiting list, so that's really the motivation to grow and scale the business this year."
They are looking at other ways to employ the many women who need jobs.
"We have a lot of women that we work with where hospitality isn't probably the environment for them," Ms Brettell said.
"It can be a very stressful environment with a lot of fast paced things changing all of the time. We have been very lucky to have people in the community that have different skills that they can bring to the table. We don't want to say too much just yet, because nothing's set in stone, but some wheels are moving in the direction of starting different types of businesses or starting different types of operations and training opportunities for the women that we work with."
Who inspires you? Who do you think should be our next Australian of the Year?
If you see them or hear about them, nominate them before July 31 for the 2026 Australian of the Year Awards at australianoftheyear.org.au.
They may officially be the country's local heroes, but cafe owners Vanessa Brettell and Hannah Costello are just happy to be away from the office.
The pair run Stepping Stone, a social enterprise that began in Cartagena, Colombia, back in 2017, and shifted to Canberra amid the pandemic in 2020.
Their cafe helps female workers who are the sole income earners in their household, new arrivals to Australia, with limited English or minimal employment history, and those experiencing homelessness. The women develop skills and experience, which helps them get into the wider workforce.
Named Australia's Local Heroes at January's Australian of the Year Awards, they have barely had time to take a breath since.
A trip to the Northern Territory, to meet with other social enterprises and talk to schoolkids about their work, has marked another milestone for the couple - the first time they've been able to leave their staff in charge of the two bustling Stepping Stone cafes.
"It's a relief, it's such a sense of achievement," Ms Brettell said over the phone from Melbourne.
"It feels wonderful when we can go and everything works well. Obviously there are little hiccups, but we're on call, and that's all part of them growing. Us not being there actually enhances everyone's sense of responsibility and ownership over the businesses, and that sense of pride that they are responsible and can manage it without us."
Ms Brettell and Ms Costello, who met more than a decade ago working at a London pub, have been invited by the Northern Territory National Australia Day Council.
During Refugee Week, from June 15 to 21, they'll meet with another work integration social enterprise in Darwin and visit primary schools to present children with "Aussie of the month" awards.
AUSTRALIAN OF THE YEAR AWARDS: NOMINATE NOW!
"I think the main message that we want to get out to little kids is that if you see something that you want to change in your community, you can do it," Ms Costello said.
"Talk to the adults, talk to the people around you, and you can affect the change that you want to see, really."
Being named Australia's Local Heroes, apart from putting their enterprise on the map, had exposed them to new ways of thinking about their business and the people they helped and employed.
"That additional publicity has led to new opportunities for us, actually looking at growing and scaling the business, and I guess having the award behind us is really motivating," Ms Brettell said.
"It feels like we have a bit of responsibility to make the most of this year and take as many opportunities as we can for the women that work with us, but mostly for the women who are still waiting to work with us. We have about 60 women on our waiting list, so that's really the motivation to grow and scale the business this year."
They are looking at other ways to employ the many women who need jobs.
"We have a lot of women that we work with where hospitality isn't probably the environment for them," Ms Brettell said.
"It can be a very stressful environment with a lot of fast paced things changing all of the time. We have been very lucky to have people in the community that have different skills that they can bring to the table. We don't want to say too much just yet, because nothing's set in stone, but some wheels are moving in the direction of starting different types of businesses or starting different types of operations and training opportunities for the women that we work with."
Who inspires you? Who do you think should be our next Australian of the Year?
If you see them or hear about them, nominate them before July 31 for the 2026 Australian of the Year Awards at australianoftheyear.org.au.
They may officially be the country's local heroes, but cafe owners Vanessa Brettell and Hannah Costello are just happy to be away from the office.
The pair run Stepping Stone, a social enterprise that began in Cartagena, Colombia, back in 2017, and shifted to Canberra amid the pandemic in 2020.
Their cafe helps female workers who are the sole income earners in their household, new arrivals to Australia, with limited English or minimal employment history, and those experiencing homelessness. The women develop skills and experience, which helps them get into the wider workforce.
Named Australia's Local Heroes at January's Australian of the Year Awards, they have barely had time to take a breath since.
A trip to the Northern Territory, to meet with other social enterprises and talk to schoolkids about their work, has marked another milestone for the couple - the first time they've been able to leave their staff in charge of the two bustling Stepping Stone cafes.
"It's a relief, it's such a sense of achievement," Ms Brettell said over the phone from Melbourne.
"It feels wonderful when we can go and everything works well. Obviously there are little hiccups, but we're on call, and that's all part of them growing. Us not being there actually enhances everyone's sense of responsibility and ownership over the businesses, and that sense of pride that they are responsible and can manage it without us."
Ms Brettell and Ms Costello, who met more than a decade ago working at a London pub, have been invited by the Northern Territory National Australia Day Council.
During Refugee Week, from June 15 to 21, they'll meet with another work integration social enterprise in Darwin and visit primary schools to present children with "Aussie of the month" awards.
AUSTRALIAN OF THE YEAR AWARDS: NOMINATE NOW!
"I think the main message that we want to get out to little kids is that if you see something that you want to change in your community, you can do it," Ms Costello said.
"Talk to the adults, talk to the people around you, and you can affect the change that you want to see, really."
Being named Australia's Local Heroes, apart from putting their enterprise on the map, had exposed them to new ways of thinking about their business and the people they helped and employed.
"That additional publicity has led to new opportunities for us, actually looking at growing and scaling the business, and I guess having the award behind us is really motivating," Ms Brettell said.
"It feels like we have a bit of responsibility to make the most of this year and take as many opportunities as we can for the women that work with us, but mostly for the women who are still waiting to work with us. We have about 60 women on our waiting list, so that's really the motivation to grow and scale the business this year."
They are looking at other ways to employ the many women who need jobs.
"We have a lot of women that we work with where hospitality isn't probably the environment for them," Ms Brettell said.
"It can be a very stressful environment with a lot of fast paced things changing all of the time. We have been very lucky to have people in the community that have different skills that they can bring to the table. We don't want to say too much just yet, because nothing's set in stone, but some wheels are moving in the direction of starting different types of businesses or starting different types of operations and training opportunities for the women that we work with."
Who inspires you? Who do you think should be our next Australian of the Year?
If you see them or hear about them, nominate them before July 31 for the 2026 Australian of the Year Awards at australianoftheyear.org.au.
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