AMAROO Retreat and Spa in Mount Helena under the stewardship of new owners Kirstin and Mike Westerman have just celebrated their first birthday anniversary.

During that time, Kirstin and Mike Westerman, while continuing the quality and intimacy that is the hallmark of the five-star retreat, have made a positive contribution to the Mount Helena community.

“We’ve always liked to support our local community groups and soon after we acquired the business we became a three-year silver sponsor of the Hills Rangers Football Club,” Kirstin said.

“Football clubs form part of the fabric of society and by supporting the Rangers our reach covers all age groups from the youngest of players. The dedication and passion of the volunteers and organisers of clubs needs to be recognised and we felt this was the best way to support them.”

Supporting community groups has been a long-time passion for Kirstin who has a 30-year history of raising money for community groups and charities.

“I have lived in small regional communities including remote outback towns most of my life. It is the people that draw you in and hold you there. Supporting these towns is imperative to their survival and my passion is health and health care,” she said.

Since the purchase of the award-winning retreat Kirstin and Mike have supported the community through more than $12,000 in sponsorships, donations and giveaways to groups including Mundaring Hills Open Studios, Mt Helena Playgroup and Kindy, Mundaring Primary School, Mazenod JFC and the Darlington Netball Club, along with Scotch College, Lifeline and the Westerman Jilya Institute for Indigenous Mental Health.

Their latest financial support is to the charity ‘Love Your Sister’ started by Samuel Johnson that fits perfectly with Kirstin’s health access focus – supporting every person with a cancer diagnosis through access to the best treatment options through genomic testing and diagnosis of the cancer itself.

“We are a medical family and living on the property we have one doctor, a registered nurse and two medical students, and we plan to continue to support the local community in any way we can,” she said.

Their diversity of support includes engaging with the Mundaring Hills art community and Amaroo Retreat and Spa have selected four artists to display across the site, including paintings, amazing glass work and sculptures.