Our 2024 School Captain Lilly Rider Wins Logan’s Australia Day Award: Young Citizen Of The Year
Our 2024 School Captain Lilly Rider has been recognised in the 2025 City Of Logan Australia Day Awards as the Young Citizen of the Year.
Our recent graduate was instrumental in igniting a campus and community-wide passion among Canterbury College students, staff and families to support Orange Sky Australia’s fundraising and awareness campaigns.
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Sunday 26 January: Australia Day 2025 Winners | Media Release Extract
Lilly Rider encouraged a small group in 2021 to take on The Sudsy Challenge for Orange Sky Australia.
The group wore bright orange t-shirts for three days straight, to shine a light on homelessness and raised almost $5,000 for the organisation’s work.
Over the past four years, the students, led by Lilly, have raised about $103,000 for Orange Sky Australia.
Lilly has also individually raised more than $12,000 with the support of family, friends and her local community network.
Logan City Council Mayor Mr Jon Raven said the City of Logan was a compassionate place where people supported others in the community.
“Australia Day is the perfect time to celebrate community champions like Lilly for the wonderful work they are doing,” Cr Raven said.
“We have so many locals who quietly go about supporting great causes and the community, and the day is about giving them the recognition they deserve for a job well done through our Australia Day Awards.
“Our city’s volunteers are the backbone of Logan and we thank each and every one of them for their dedication to making our city a better place.”
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This 2025 Logan Young Citizen of the Year Award recognises Lilly’s tremendous community service work in leading Canterbury College to being officially announced as Orange Sky Australia’s highest national fundraising school for two years 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.
Last year, 283 Canterbury students and staff participated in The Sudsy Challenge, collectively raising enough money to fund 1,955 loads of washing!
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 in late 2024.
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 Awardee from among its student prefects.
