Sunshine Coast Grammar School is proud to acknowledge past student Annie Jones (2018) and Head of Year 12, Katie Livock’s nominations in the Sunshine Coast Council’s Australia Day Awards for 2022.
Annie Jones has been nominated for Young Citizen of the Year for founding her charity No More Fake Smiles. Annie works to empower child abuse victims to speak up and educate adults to listen to and believe a child’s disclosure of abuse. Through her courage and tireless efforts, Annie has created a safe space for victims and their families to seek the resources and support they need.
“No More Fake Smiles is something I wish I had when I was being abused. This issue is so much bigger than me and I knew I had the strength to talk to others about it,” said Miss Jones.
Annie and her team are using their past experiences to also advocate for changes to the judicial system to better protect and support child victims. For more information on the important work, Annie is doing and to support their mission visit No More Fake Smiles.
In addition to her important work for our community, Annie is currently undertaking a dual degree in Bachelor of Criminology & Justice, and a Bachelor of Social Science (Psychology) at the University of the Sunshine Coast.
Head of Year 12 at Sunshine Coast Grammar, Ms Katie Livock has also been nominated for Citizen of the Year for her dedication and volunteer work as President at the not-for-profit business, Sunshine Coast Beekeepers Inc. Katie dedicates her free time to the local community and voluntarily runs an Introduction to Beekeeping course once a month. Katie mentors fellow beekeepers and provides support, advice and assistance in maintaining their beehives. “
“At Grammar, we are encouraged to be lifelong learners and I thought this could be something I learned more about,” said Ms Livock.
It has been over six years since Katie first started beekeeping and in that time she was asked to join the Sunshine Coast Beekeepers Committee and has recently been appointed as President of the Club.
The decline of bees in our world is impacting the important role they play in our environment and our food security. Bees are the most efficient creatures on the planet; however, they still need our help. Did you know that it takes 12 bees their entire life to make just one teaspoon of honey?
“While becoming a beekeeper sounds daunting, almost anyone is capable. There are members as young as 13 and as old as 90 at the Club. If becoming a beekeeper does not create a buzz for you there are many things we can do at home to help our bee population like planting herbs and flowers that attract bees, for example, lavender and basil,” added Ms Livock.
The biggest suggestion from Katie is to always buy your honey from a local beekeeper, it’s delicious, and some studies show that it can help if you have hay fever and some allergies to plants as it introduces pollens into your body in a much safer way.
The Australia Day Awards Ceremony will be held on Tuesday, 22 March 2022.