Anyone who has enjoyed a coffee or eaten the delicious food at Cafe Stepping Stone at Strathnairn or Dickson already has a hint at how much the establishments mean to Canberra.
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Now, the whole of Australia knows.
Stepping Stone co-founders Vanessa Brettell and Hannah Costello were on Saturday night named Australia's Local Heroes for 2025.
The pair set up Stepping Stone as a social enterprise to create work and provide training for women, mostly from migrant and refugee backgrounds, and others who experience significant barriers to employment.
Cafe Stepping Stone has been at Strathnairn in Belconnen since August 2020.
With support from the ACT government, the second Cafe Stepping Stone, in Dickson, officially opened in September last year.
Both cafes run as sustainable, vegetarian affairs.
Hannah and Vanessa's inclusive employment practices involve targeting female workers who are the sole income earners in their household, new arrivals to Australia, those with limited English or minimal employment history, and those experiencing homelessness.
The employees are supported to gain skills and experience, facilitating their entry or return to the workforce.
Hannah and Vanessa also run a range of events through Stepping Stone, creating a welcoming hub for community to grow, with a focus on social justice and connection.
Vanessa, 31, and Hannah, 32, say migrant and refugee woman face the highest barriers to entering the Australian workforce due to factors including limited English, the pressures of juggling employment with domestic responsibilities, a lack of access to transport and affordable housing close to work and scant recognition of their existing skills and qualifications.
In four years, they had employed more than 50 women from migrant backgrounds, the women collectively earning more than $2 million in wages.
The women now had the autonomy to shape their own future.
National Australia Day Council chair John Foreman praised their work.
"Vanessa and Hannah are empowering migrant women to find identity, education and employment in a new country," he said.
"Their empathy and ideas are creating bright futures and connection within communities."
Vanessa attended Narrabundah College and the Australian National University. Hannah was born in Canberra. She and Vanessa recognised their privileged upbringing and wanted to give back to those who struggled.
"It's cheesy, but at 21, I was inspired by the quote, 'Be the change you want to be'," Vanessa said.
2025 Australian of the Year Awards
She was partly inspired to create the cafe by her grandmother who came to Australia from India in the 1960s with little education and capacity to become part of the community. Sixty years later, her grandmother still felt in limbo between the two countries.
"We didn't want other people's experiences to be like hers," Vanessa said.
Hannah, who was born in Canberra, said they hoped to further the reach of Cafe Stepping Stone.
While current training focused on skills such as barista and kitchen work, they hoped to be able to provide a broader range of training programs into the future.
Hannah said social enterprises were the future of business and she implored people to support them.
"By putting people and the planet first and using profit as a means to achieve it, social enterprise is the most effective way to improve society," she said.
Vanessa said all the women employed by the cafes had been hard-working, resilient and committed.
"They just want to improve their lives," she said.
Both Vanessa and Hannah call Canberra "their beloved home town" - intent on also making it a true home for many other women as well.
