Paediatric nurse and charitable group founder Fatma Elzein has been named one of the 20 finalists in Fairfax Media's Daily Life Women Of The Year awards.
Fatma has been recognised for starting Mummies Paying It Forward, a private Facebook group that collects donations, sorts them, then hands them on to more than a dozen local, national and international charities.
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From a few friends with some surplus kids' clothes to a charity with over 8,000 members, Fatma Elzein's Mummies Paying it Forward is changing lives in Sydney and abroad.
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The mother of Sydney charities
From a few friends with some surplus kids' clothes to a charity with over 8,000 members, Fatma Elzein's Mummies Paying it Forward is changing lives in Sydney and abroad.
The group started with a handful of friends almost a year ago, when Fatma heard a local charity was in need of items for mothers and children. In a short amount of time, it has grown significantly: through word of mouth and through media coverage.
Since the group was first highlighted on The Optimist this October, it has grown to a community of more than 11,000 people.
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It has recently expanded its operation to include two more branches of Storage King, which is donating space for the group, and now supports 20 charities – with recent additions including Friends With Dignity, which helps victims of domestic violence by setting them up in stable, furnished accommodation.
Fatma has been nominated alongside high-profile women in science, business, medicine, arts, law and human rights, such as Gillian Triggs and Rosie Batty, who were chosen by a panel of judges based on their positive impact on the lives of Australian women.
Speaking shortly after her finalist status was announced, Fatma said it was a "huge honour" to be among such "amazing" women.
"These awards, they're not my thing because obviously I've never been around this stuff," Fatma said.
"It's nice to recognise women in society and the changes they've made, because it shows you what women have been able to achieve in the past year – you don't really realise until you look back.
"All the stories, and all the women, are like 'wow'."
She said though she is reluctant to have attention focused on her, she has realised it is helpful to spread the word of her group and what they do.
"It's not every day you get nominated. It's a prestigious award, so it's a huge honour."
The awards will be announced in Sydney on December 7.
This story was first published in December 2015.