What do lifesavers and ladybugs have in common?

Welcome to our Every Woman for Each Other series in which we celebrate pairs of women who, together, are the builders, nurturers and custodians of a community.

The second duos featured in our series are mother-daughter surf lifesavers Sascha Rundle and Saskia Rundle Trowbridge – and Katie Koullas and Natasha Staheli from Yellow Ladybugs, a charity supporting autistic girls and women.

Here, both pairs speak to FW about how they’ve become a part of supportive, inclusive and, quite literally, life-saving communities.

Earlier this year, 16-year-old Saskia Rundle Trowbridge saved three teenage boys who were trapped in a cave. The young volunteer had only recently qualified to crew the rescue boats at Warriewood Surf Life Saving Club when, just minutes into her patrol shift, she braved rough waves and clambered across rocks to pull off a daring, headline-making rescue.

“When I jumped in, I didn’t even realise the size of the waves,” Saskia shares in the Every Woman for Each Other series. “The thing I was most worried about was the jellyfish.”

Saskia’s mother, Sascha Rundle, is also a Surf Lifesaver at Warriewood Surf Life Saving Club on Sydney’s Northern Beaches.

“When I saw the footage of the big rescue that Saskia did, I saw the size of the waves and they freaked me out,” she says. “Then to see the way that she was communicating with the boys – she was guiding them through, she was explaining how she would rescue them with the help of the other people on patrol – it was just amazing. It was incredible to see her in that moment, just shining.”

Saskia’s heroics were reported across the media and have seen a rush of teenage girls signing on to train as surf lifesavers – continuing a legacy of women protecting beachgoers on their local coastlines.

“Mum has pushed others to be their best and do their best while pushing herself to be the best, as well.”

Sascha, too, was inspired by a female patrol member to join the Warriewood Surf Life Saving club. “I wanted to become a surf lifesaver and, later in life, that’s what I decided to do. I joined Patrol One as a 40-something year old,” she says, reflecting on this time.

“Things were not going well in my life and so I stretched myself then and, in doing so, I discovered this wonderful community around me… Little did I even think, at that point, that my family would join me in Surf Life Saving.”

Saskia says that, nowadays, she sees her mum giving very familiar pep talks to the kids in their Beach Nippers club, which Sascha coordinates.

Mother-daughter duo Sascha Rundle and Saskia Rundle Trowbridge, Surf Lifesavers at Warriewood Surf Life Saving Club

“She’s out there and she says, ‘You can do it! It’s so close, just a couple more strokes!’ And that’s the sort of thing she would say to me… she’s encouraging them and she gets them through it, because they do end up getting there.”

While working through her Surf Life Saving training, when Saskia told her mum she wanted to follow her lead into the rescue boats, Sascha was, as ever, incredibly supportive.

“She’s all about getting more women and girls in positions like that,” says Saskia. “I love our club but, in general, I think a lot of [Surf Life Saving] can be male dominated… Mum has pushed others to be their best and do their best while pushing herself to be the best, as well.”

To those considering joining Surf Life Saving or other volunteer services, Sascha says to go for it. “You get so much out of being part of a community organisation and giving back to the people around you. And you make great friends, you learn great skills, it’s just wonderful.”

Another mother, Melbourne’s Katie Koullas, was compelled to start a community of her own. For the past 10 years, Yellow Ladybugs has brought together and advocated for neurodivergent girls, women and gender-diverse individuals.

“My daughter was really struggling in early primary school. There were no play dates or invitations to parties,” says Koullas in the Every Woman for Each Other series. “I just thought, you know what? I am going to help you find your people. And that is what has driven me ever since – people finding their people, so they know that they’re not damaged or broken or unworthy of inclusion.”

Koullas put the word out on social media and Natasha Staheli, whose daughter is also autistic, was the first to respond. The pair met in person over coffee, “and I just had those good vibes straight away – that instinct that Katie was the real deal and that this was really going somewhere,” says Staheli.

Yellow Ladybugs – named after Koullas’ daughter’s nickname and for their uniqueness – began growing into a community on social media. Here, Koullas and Staheli made a point of being present, connected and engaged.

“It was somewhere where I belonged and where my daughter belonged – and everything we’ve done has grown from that.”

“I remember going through every single comment and replying so our community felt seen and heard and welcomed,” says Koullas. “It was so authentic, because we were reaching out for a community and they were reaching right back out to us.”

Their first event was at the National Gallery of Victoria, which opened its doors early, out of hours, for a group of young autistic girls – or Ladybugs.

“It was the first time we had ever seen that peer connection and the energy in the room was just electric,” says Koullas. “We had never seen that many autistic girls, it was always boys anywhere you heard any conversation around [autism]. And to know that there were at least 20 in Melbourne at that time was just mind-blowing.”

“It was something to be celebrated, those differences. It wasn’t that narrative around tragedy and burden and challenge,” says Staheli. “It was somewhere where I belonged and where my daughter belonged – and everything we’ve done has grown from that.”

Today, as Yellow Ladybugs CEO and Policy and Advocacy Director, respectively, Koullas and Staheli continue to support their community through connection, resources, their annual conference and ambassadors including actor Chloé Hayden and comedian Hannah Gadsby.

“We’ve had people say that we’ve saved their lives – we’ve actually changed and saved lives,” says Koullas.

“Whether it’s a parent, child or a young adult who has come to us to be part of what we do, the personal impact on them is really important – but also that big-picture impact, the systemic change,” says Staheli.

“I’m really, really proud of what we’ve done and the things we’ve been part of and the change we have driven. It’s just such a privilege to be part of a community and organisation where we can do that.”