Merrimac volunteer Tani Bloudell named Gold Coast Woman of the Year

She believes people should be shown the value of helping others from a young age. And she’s certainly led by example. Meet the Harvey Norman Gold Coast Woman of the Year for 2020.

Harvey Norman Gold Coast Woman of the Year winner Tani Bloudell. Photo: Kit Wise.

At a time most nearly-12-year-olds are wondering what they’ll get for their birthday, Gold Coast Woman of the Year Tani Bloudell was focused on what she could give.

“I started volunteering at 12 because that was the age you were allowed to start,” says Tani, now 24.

“I’d always had a passion for helping people and I loved animals, so on my 12th birthday I walked down to Tallebudgera and started at Riding for the Disabled.”

Whether it’s lending a hand at Mudgeeraba Special School, feeding the homeless with Homeless Connect or creating care packages for foster kids, The Harvey Norman Gold Coast Woman of the Year has made kindness a way of life.

“I think people don’t realise that even just helping one person can be a domino effect,” Tani says.

Tani Bloudell started volunteering at the age of 12. Photo: Kit Wise.

“You can change the lives of so many other people through one action – they might then go out and help another person.

“Even smiling at someone in a grocery store if they’re sad can be the biggest difference because it can be the reason they keep fighting that day.

“With mental health and everything going on at the moment, little things can be the best things.

“If you do at least one act of kindness every day you never know how great the world’s going to be.”

The All Saints Anglican School alum believes kids should be shown the value of helping people from a young age, so she started with her classmates.

“I volunteered with Love and Care making packages to give foster kids,” she says.

“When foster kids come into care they usually only have what’s on their back, so we give them a backpack with new stuff.

“I did a huge toy drive through All Saints and got the primary school kids involved because I wanted to show them that it doesn’t matter how little it is, everything really adds up.

“We collected more than 1200 soft toys – each bag got one in it – and it was amazing to see how excited the kids were to be doing things to help.”

INCREDIBLE BRAVERY OF PEOPLE’S CHOICE WINNER

As a 17-year-old, Tani raised more than $1 million in educational resources for Tupou High School in Tonga, which had 800 students and no desks or chairs.

She shipped six 40ft containers full of resources and established a sister school exchange program between Tupou and All Saints, allowing a Tongan student to receive a private school education and campus accommodation at the Gold Coast school.

Five students have finished Year 12 under the program since 2016, with the sixth set to graduate in November.

Tani is currently East Coast fundraising co-ordinator and a volunteer for Radio Lollipop. Picture: Glenn Hampson.

Tani is currently East Coast fundraising co-ordinator and a volunteer for Radio Lollipop, helping make days that bit brighter for kids in hospital. She understands first hand the difference sparking a smile can make.

“I’ve been in and out of hospital since I was a baby,” she says.

“I have extreme anaphylactic allergies, which meant I couldn’t drink water without it being filtered and there were only six foods I could eat. I have a heart condition.

“Volunteering with Radio Lollipop is just three hours out of my day once a week, but I know those three hours can be the biggest difference to kids in hospital.

“Parents say, ‘This is the first time I’ve seen my child smile all day’ and it shows you that what you are doing matters.”

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It’s moments like these that top up her tank, fuel for the fight ahead as Tani continues to battle the aftermath of a severe car accident.

“It was in Canada where I was working when I was 19 and they didn’t think I was going to walk away from the accident,” she says.

“A girl ran a red light on the wrong side of the road, she was speeding.

“It left me having multiple surgeries and I lost the use of my right arm for more than 18 months.

“I had a brain injury so I had to wait about another three months before I was able to travel (home).”

At Tani’s bedside was now-husband, Gareth. The pair had met just two months earlier.

“We met in a grocery store in Canada,” she says.

“He was the deli manager. Because I have allergies, I was asking if I could eat one of the salads.

“We got talking, he asked me for my number, we went out that night and we’ve been together ever since.

“He’s been my absolute rock through everything and we’ve been through thick and thin – multiple surgeries, doctor’s visits, scares.

“We’d been together nine months when he moved his whole life to Australia and we flew back together.

“He loves what I do and we really enjoy volunteering together.”

Tani’s time as a patient lends added meaning to her role with Radio Lollipop, but there’s still plenty left on her list she’d like to give.

Appointed as the YMCA Queensland Youth Parliament Member for Mudgeeraba, she’s eager to get into politics.

“We need younger people in politics, but also people who really just have a passion to help people because they’re the ones who really can make a difference,” she says.