What started as one fundraiser turned into something much bigger than I ever planned.

Community has always been a big part of my life.

From as young as I can remember, I was finding reasons to bring people together - community events, workshops, get-togethers, volunteering and, of course, my own birthday parties. Music was always there too, growing up going to festivals, concerts and gigs with my family.

I eventually found myself working at Mo's Desert Clubhouse after asking the manager for a job while watching Cosmic Psychos with my mates. Being around a family-owned live music venue and seeing how much heart went into creating a space for music and community made me want to play my part in supporting the scene too.

At the same time, I was volunteering with For Kids In Care, helping with things like collecting and organising donations for their Christmas present drive for children and young people in residential care.

One day while volunteering, I thought:

Surely I can put on a gig and raise some money for the charity.

So I called some mates, messaged some bands and within a month the first Riffs For A Reason gig was born.

We raised $4,000 for For Kids In Care.

Seeing people show up for the music while supporting something that mattered made me realise I'd found what I wanted to keep doing.

Riffs For A Reason keeps growing every time people show up - and I can't wait to see what change we can make in the world.