General News
25 May, 2026
Devoted to others
AN 11-year-old White Rock girl has been named a finalist in the 2026 7NEWS Young Achiever Awards Queensland for her community work and environmental initiatives.
Scarlett-Jean Cheetham is a finalist in the Kennelly Constructions Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Achievement Award category and will attend the awards in Brisbane on 19 June.
Scarlett-Jean, from Djiru and Djabugay Country with Torres Strait Islander heritage from Boigu and Badu Islands, has spent several years supporting community organisations, people experiencing homelessness and marine conservation projects across the region.
Her mother Annabel Cheetham said Scarlett-Jean had shown a strong commitment to helping others from a young age.
Since 2021, Scarlett-Jean has donated Easter gift packs to a local women’s shelter, school supplies to School Savvy and more than 100 gifts to children in the Cairns paediatrics ward at Cairns Hospital.
In 2023, she donated essential gift packs to Mookai Rosie for mothers and babies and took part in youth leadership and cultural programs at the Murama Indigenous Youth Summit in New South Wales.
The same year, Scarlett-Jean began delivering meals and water to members of Cairns’ homeless community after witnessing homelessness during a trip to Sydney.
Her environmental work expanded in 2025 when she raised $4000 for Great Barrier Reef protection through bake sales and chores. She also volunteered with reef recovery projects at Norman Reef and Moore Reef and assisted with James Cook University’s Seagrass Restoration Program.
Scarlett-Jean’s conservation efforts were recognised by Citizens of the Reef, GBR Biology and Reef Cooperative, which named a manta ray in her honour through Project Manta. She also appeared on Channel 7’s The Morning Show to discuss her reef initiative and community projects.
This year, Scarlett-Jean launched SJC Collective, a personal brand she hopes will one day become a foundation supporting Indigenous students pursuing careers in marine science.
She is also fundraising for the Cairns Turtle Rehabilitation Centre through bake sales and the sale of handmade necklaces – and has already raised $3695 towards a goal of $5000.
