We are proud to celebrate our Co-Founder and Chair, Mary Muirhead OAM, who has been awarded the 2025 Dick Menting Community Champion Award.
The award honours the late Dick Menting, a true community leader and founding chairman of Inner East Community Finance Ltd . It recognises individuals who make an outstanding and lasting contribution to their community — a description that perfectly captures Mary’s impact over the past two decades.
Twenty years ago, around a dining table in Hawthorn, Mary and a small group of like-minded people shared a bold idea: that every child should have the chance to learn, communicate, and belong — regardless of their financial circumstances. From that vision, The Learning for Life Autism Centre (L4Life) was born.
What began as a grassroots initiative to support local families has grown into a trusted, evidence-based service supporting more than 120 children and families each year across Melbourne. Yet, at its heart, L4Life remains deeply connected to its Inner East beginnings — built on community collaboration, compassion, and inclusion.
Under Mary’s volunteer leadership, L4Life has become more than a service; it has become a village. Her ability to connect families, educators, service clubs, philanthropists, and local businesses has strengthened networks of support that extend far beyond the organisation itself. Through programs like Inclusion Works® and our Fair Access program, Mary’s vision continues to shape schools, early years centres, and communities across Victoria.
This award recognises not only Mary’s leadership, but also her unwavering belief that lasting change happens when communities come together. Thank you to Inner East Community Finance for making this award possible.
On behalf of everyone at L4Life, we congratulate Mary on this well-deserved recognition — and thank her for continuing to inspire and guide us all toward a more inclusive future.
“It was a great honour to receive the Dick Menting Community Champion Award and to celebrate the legacy of Dick, one of the founders of the Community Bank Inner East — an organisation that has walked alongside and supported Learning for Life since our earliest days.
It was a pleasure to meet Dick’s wife, Margaret, and to share my memories of Dick from the several occasions we met, particularly during Learning for Life’s formative years. Dick was deeply passionate about community — about the impact the bank could have, and about partnering with organisations like ours through event sponsorships and genuine connection.
Dick was all about conversation and listening. He would take the time to hear about our vision for the Learning for Life Village and our growing work, and I loved hearing about the many organisations and people touched by the Bank’s generosity.
This award represents the many wonderful people in our Village who foster meaningful connections and value relationships — the very heart of what we do at Learning for Life.”
Mary Muirhead OAM
Left: Mary (middle) stands with Bob Stensholt, Chair, Inner East Community Finance Ltd; and Nick Coker, CEO, Inner East Community Finance Ltd
Right: Bob, Nicci (CEO, L4Life), Mary and Nick
