2024 School Captain Lilly Rider Nominated For 2025 City Of Logan Australia Day Award

Our 2024 School Captain Lilly Rider has been nominated for a 2025 City Of Logan Australia Day Award as a finalist in the Young Citizen of the Year category.

The nomination recognises her tremendous community service work in leading Canterbury College to being officially announced as Orange Sky Australia’s highest national fundraising school for two years running across 2023-24.

Orange Sky Australia is a not-for-profit organisation that provides free mobile laundry and shower services to those doing it tough in communities around Australia, alongside genuine non-judgmental conversations.

Lilly has been an official student ambassador for The Sudsy Challenge – Orange Sky Australia’s major annual three-day fundraiser, and she initiated Canterbury’s first Sudsy Challenge back in 2021, and continued to support and grow this community service initiative on campus ever since.

This year, 283 Canterbury students and staff participated in The Sudsy Challenge, collectively raising enough money to fund 1,955 loads of washing!

At a young age, Lilly identified the challenges faced by those experiencing homelessness in her local community, and took it upon herself to support Orange Sky’s mission to make real and positive change.

Her leadership, compassion and commitment to social justice have helped grow this service initiative immensely and really rallied our community behind this worthy cause.

It was particularly fitting that Lilly had the honour of introducing Mr Nicholas Marchesi OAM, co-founder of Orange Sky Australia, before he addressed our students earlier this year.

This shows that one student can have a significant impact on their peers, their year level cohort, their school, their community and the many patrons of Orange Sky who are in need of support.

Lilly was also involved in the international Duke of Edinburgh Awards scheme via Canterbury College, earning a Bronze Award for her time and efforts participating in overnight ‘adventure journeys’, weekly service activities and personal skills development.

She was a key member of Canterbury’s inaugural Years 5-12 Student Parliament, which provides a platform for students to engage in decision-making, voice their opinions, and contribute to the school community, while improving their own communication and leadership skills.

In addition, Lilly was a student volunteer with Rosies – Friends on the Street, volunteering to do community outreach work in the local Beenleigh area on weeknights during the year, distributing food, hot drinks and support to local homeless groups in a supervised team environment.

Furthermore, she participated in Junior Quota Beenleigh’s annual ‘The Big Box Sleepout’, by ‘sleeping rough’ during winter on the courts of the Beenleigh Tennis Centre, to raise money and awareness for local Logan and Beenleigh homeless and disadvantaged people.

So Canterbury College is extremely proud to have such a thoroughly deserving 2025 City Of Logan Australia Day Award finalist from among its student prefects.