Sunrise walks and gala nights: How local community group Curated is backing DonateLife Week
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When local graphic designer Vanessa Schimizzi launched Curated in 2025, she never expected that her little idea to help people find love would lead to making true and lasting impact in the wider community.
Beginning with just wanting to “bring 100 singles on a boat”, Curated now goes beyond connecting people romantically, hosting events for like-minded people to meet friends and build networks.
Just over a year since Vanessa hosted the very first Singles Sunset Sail, Curated now partners with businesses, charities and government – believing that the strongest communities are built when people come together with a shared purpose.
This year, Curated received a DonateLife Community Awareness Grant and became an official DonateLife Community Partner.
“When I first started Curated, it was really about helping people feel less alone and making it easier to meet new people. But as the community has grown, I’ve realised there’s an opportunity to do so much more with it. We can bring people together, but we can also use that same power of community to raise awareness, support important causes and genuinely make a difference,” says Vanessa.
“There’s something really powerful about watching a community that started with complete strangers come together to create impact. This DonateLife Week, we’re taking that one step further. It’s the power of people coming together… that’s what makes this so special to me.”
Taking place from Sunday 26 July until Sunday 2 August, DonateLife Week is Australia’s national awareness campaign dedicated to promoting organ and tissue donation.
This year, Curated is hosting two special events to get the conversation flowing about the importance of donation – the Sunrise Walk for a Cause & Social Session on Friday 31 July and Curated Gala Night for a Cause on Saturday 1 August.
Partnering with DK. Society, the sunrise walk will kick off from 5.30 am and will see a morning of connection by Lake Burley Griffin with the chance to grab a coffee from Curio Press and enjoy a BBQ breakfast with proceeds to BreastScreen ACT.
From 6 pm, the Gala Night for a Cause will take place in the National Ballroom at Hotel Realm, bringing the community together for an evening of powerful stories, a three-course dinner, four-hour drinks package, entertainment by GJ DJ and more.
The evening will also include a silent auction and raffle, with proceeds supporting the Bruton Basketball Foundation and its work with disadvantaged and at-risk young people.
Both events will give attendees the opportunity to hear powerful lived experiences about the life-changing impact of organ and tissue donation.
“Over the last few weeks, I’ve had the privilege of hearing some of the stories that will be shared at these events, and honestly, they’ve stayed with me. There’s something incredibly powerful about hearing directly from people whose lives have been changed by organ and tissue donation, and creating a space where our community can come together and listen to those lived experiences is really special,” says Vanessa.
“The more awareness we create, the more conversations happen. The more conversations happen, the more people understand the importance of organ and tissue donation. That’s where the ripple effect starts.”
Nadia Burkolter, DonateLife ACT Agency Manager, hopes the events will raise awareness of the profound impact organ donors have on individuals, families and communities.
“We hope that by hearing real-life stories from donor families and transplant recipients, people attending will gain a personal connection to the cause. Building on our supportive community is key,” she says.
According to DonateLife, since the national program first began in 2009 over 20,000 people have received life-saving organ transplants from over 7,500 deceased organ donors. In 2025 alone, 1,438 Australians received a life-saving organ transplant – but while most Australians support organ and tissue donation, only one-third have registered.
With over 2,000 people still on the waitlist, DonateLife is calling for more people to take one minute to register as a donor.
“Organ donors save and improve many lives; they represent the very best of humanity” says Nadia.
“Your donation decision really matters and taking action by signing onto the Australian Organ Donor Register and telling your loved ones about your wishes is crucial.”
For Vanessa, the Curated x DonateLife Week events bring together everything Curated has grown to represent — using the power of community and connection to support important causes and genuinely make people’s lives better.
But while she’s thrilled to be connecting Canberrans through two very different community events, the significance of the messaging isn’t lost on her.
“More than anything, I hope people learn something about organ and tissue donation that they didn’t know before. I hope they go home and start a conversation with their family or friends, because that’s where the ripple effect starts. One conversation can lead to another, and you never know the impact that could have one day,” says Vanessa.
“Curated started with a simple idea to help people connect, and now we’re seeing what can happen when you bring those people together for something that matters. If someone leaves having made a new friend, feeling like they belong, learnt something important and started a conversation about organ and tissue donation that could one day save a life, then that’s pretty incredible.”
For more information about DonateLife Week, visit donatelife.gov.au. To register for the events, visit curatedaus.com.
