{"id":41148,"date":"2026-10-11T04:49:50","date_gmt":"2026-10-10T17:49:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/?p=41148"},"modified":"2026-10-11T04:49:50","modified_gmt":"2026-10-10T17:49:50","slug":"no-sleap-ing-on-the-job-as-citizen-of-the-year-continues-to-inspire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2026\/10\/11\/no-sleap-ing-on-the-job-as-citizen-of-the-year-continues-to-inspire\/","title":{"rendered":"No Sleap-ing on the job as Citizen of the Year continues to inspire"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A family devastated by the impact of cancer is giving back to the community by supporting the charitable work of City of Newcastle\u2019s Citizen of the Year, Peter Sleap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cameron and Michelle Turner received much-needed practical and financial assistance from the charity Mr Sleap created, Sleapy\u2019s Foundation, as their daughter Florence underwent a 13-month battle with paediatric brain cancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following her passing, the couple created Flo\u2019s Day to celebrate her spirit and raise money for families in need, with part of the proceeds from this month\u2019s fundraiser going to the Foundation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"PeterPeter and Robynn Sleap celebrate Peter’s Citizen of the Year award from City of Newcastle in 2026.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Sleap was named City of Newcastle\u2019s Citizen of the Year in 2026 for his work with Sleapy\u2019s Foundation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nominations are now open for the 2027 Citizen of the Year awards across four categories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Turner said the awards are a wonderful way of recognising those people who make Newcastle a better place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSleapy\u2019s Foundation was there for us during some of our darkest moments. Their kindness and generosity helped ease some of the immense pressure our family was facing,\u201d Mr Turner said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur way of saying thank you is by using Flo\u2019s Day to ensure Sleapy\u2019s Foundation can continue providing that same support to families facing childhood cancer in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think the Citizen of the Year awards are another great way for our community to show their thanks for everyone who goes above and beyond to help others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople like Peter don\u2019t do what they do for awards or praise, but I am so glad someone made the effort to nominate him last year.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 2019, Mr Sleap\u2019s charity has delivered financial relief, meaningful experiences and practical programs for cancer victims and their families, with the majority of funds going directly back into the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Sleap said it was an unexpected honour when he was named Citizen of the Year in 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAfter surviving stage four throat cancer I wanted to give back to the community and that\u2019s when I started Sleapy\u2019s Foundation,\u201d Mr Sleap said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are people in the community that don\u2019t think they are doing extraordinary things, but they are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSomeone took the time to nominate me and it reminded me that kindness matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wanted to share the award with everyone, from those who\u2019ve donated or partnered with the Foundation, attended events or simply supported our work along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTheir efforts show how amazing Newcastle is as a community and I want to encourage people to nominate another worthy recipient.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lord Mayor Gavin Morris said these awards are about making Newcastle stronger, kinder and more connected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery day across Newcastle, there are people quietly making a difference. They do it simply because they care,\u201d Cr Morris said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cImagine what your nomination could mean to someone who\u2019s been helping the community for years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nominations are open via City of Newcastle\u2019s website<\/a> for the 2027 Citizen of the Year, Young Citizen of the Year, Senior Citizen of the Year and Community Group of the Year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nominations close on 20 November 2026, with recipients to be announced in early 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flo\u2019s Day will take place on Saturday 24 October 2026 from 12pm at Club Lambton. For more information visit the website at https:\/\/flos-day.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A family devastated by the impact of cancer is giving back to the community by supporting the charitable work of City of Newcastle\u2019s Citizen of the Year, Peter Sleap. Cameron and Michelle Turner received much-needed practical and financial assistance from the charity Mr Sleap created, Sleapy\u2019s Foundation, as their daughter Florence underwent a 13-month battle … Continue reading “No Sleap-ing on the job as Citizen of the Year continues to inspire”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-newcastle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41148"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41148\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41149,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41148\/revisions\/41149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}