Hi,
I know the latest lockdown was challenging for so many so I do hope you’re staying safe and well. I’m pleased to say that we have stayed open again to support families and are incredibly busy despite a week without goods donations being dropped off and not having our incredible volunteers onsite.
There have been lots of highlights over the last couple of months, including -
- Celebrating National Volunteer Week - a special way to say thanks to all our incredible volunteers
- Hosting our “Make a Mother’s Day” launch event
- Travelling to our other branch in Ballarat to see the brand new expanded warehouse
On another exciting note, Giving Day is also just around the corner on Wednesday 16 June. Please keep an eye out for updates and #givesharecare what you can!
Thank you for everything you do for Geelong Mums! We often hear about the immediate impact the many items you help provide to families has on families in need. Cots, prams, car seats and clothing bundles aren't just a mode of transport or a nice outfit for families. They provide so much more - freedom, warmth, safety and opportunity.
I hope you enjoy reading some of the exciting updates happening at Geelong Mums.
Warm regards,
Julia
Julia Roache
General Manager
julia@geelongmums.org
Give, Share, Care on Giving Day 2021
It’s that special time of year again… Giving Day is almost here. Just two weeks to go.
Last year, an incredible $76,000 was donated from the community on the day. We were blown away by this support and then able to quadruple it thanks to our generous matched donor partners. Because of all these generous donations we’ve been able to help 5,302 babies and children across 2,623 families in Victoria.
We’re pleased to confirm that we will be quadrupling donations again this year and would love to raise just a little bit more than last year to ensure that we can help thousands more families with no other way of providing for their children.
This is why we need you - our loving community to Give, Share and Care this Giving Day.
Stories from our community
“Geelong Mums have been a tremendous help to my family in this difficult time. During this turmoil of homelessness that we are currently going through the support from Geelong Mums means the world. All the items received were of such great quality and in wonderful condition. It truly brought a spark to my children’s eyes unpacking all their goodies. I could not be more appreciative of all they do!”
Natalie, Beneficiary
Thank you for Making a Mother's Day
When the call went out that the Geelong Mums Mother’s Day lunch wouldn’t be going ahead in 2021, our generous community responded in the most fabulous way. With an invitation to host your own event, several creative and fun celebrations were held in its place, raising much needed funds to support families in desperate need. Lunches were held at restaurants, dinners were catered in people’s homes and fundraising raffles took centre stage.
Two of the Geelong businesses who played a special part in the absence of our Mother’s Day lunch were Blondie Salon and Hygge:Liv. Blondie raised over $5,600 in an event that brought businesses together and showed what a fabulous community we have here in Geelong. The team from Hygge:Liv hosted a ladies lunch for over 120 people at seaside restaurant A La Grecque and raised an astonishing $17,000!
Combined, all the events held during May raised over $30,000 and we thank all of those who supported us in this way, for sharing our vision of caring for every baby and child.
Our Make a Mother's Day toiletry pack campaign was also a wonderful success after COVID put a stop to it last year! Thanks to the incredible support of both the community and our hard working and generous volunteers, we were able to provide 697 toiletry packs to Mums in need. We were also so lucky to receive beautiful feedback from a recipient who posted this message on Facebook:
“Thank you for my 'Make a Mother's Day' package. I received one from my Bethany worker today. Self care is something that I just don't do. I don't make time for it. I can't justify any extra expenses and honestly, I just really don't feel worth it. It's just easier to keep plowing ahead. You have literally given me self care in a box. I feel so spoilt and I'm so very thankful. Xx “
We couldn’t ask for a better reminder of why we do what we do, and how we just could not assist these families without all of your hard work and support!
Share your story
Over the last few months, with your support, we have continued to provide essential nursery equipment to thousands of families in need. We’ve also had quite a few people reaching out to share their Geelong Mums story with us.
Every story we hear brightens our day. So now it's your turn....
There are no rules or requirements. You’re very welcome to share your name with us or remain anonymous.
If you’re not sure where to begin, here are some questions to consider when telling your story:
- Why have you chosen to support Geelong Mums?
- How did you hear about us?
- Did Geelong Mums provide assistance to you? If so, in what way?
- How did your experience reveal what Geelong Mums is all about?
National Volunteer Week
17 - 23 May
Celebrating Volunteer Week is very important to Geelong Mums. It’s our small way of saying a very big, heartfelt thank you for all that our volunteers do, each and every week.
It was such a brilliant week - with lots on offer! With fabulous support from businesses such as La Madre Bakery, Geelong Myotherapy and Wellness Centre and The Gordon, our volunteers were treated to morning teas, massages, floral arranging classes and much more. A very special mention to Marci Sanderson and her sisters, who donated all the flowers for a special bouquet arranging session in loving memory of their beautiful Dad, John Sanderson.
We are so lucky to have the volunteers we do at Geelong Mums and we can't thank them enough for all they do to continue to support thousands of babies and children in Geelong each year.
Helping share more
Last month the girls from Sacred Heart College Geelong came to our warehouse and prepared beautiful clothing packs which we were then able to send to families who needed our help. Thank you to Annelise, Chloe and Sophia for all your help!
If you would like to book in your school group for a session of volunteering, please visit our website here.
Vale Frank Costa
The staff and volunteers at Geelong Mums would like to extend our condolences and thoughts to the Costa family on the passing of Frank last month.
As so many others have said, Frank's generosity and dedication to the people of Geelong will live on as his legacy.
Our heartfelt thanks goes to Frank for his support of Geelong Mums.
He will be sorely missed.
Coats for Kids
This winter we will be able to continue with our Coats for Kids drive at Geelong Mums. We are collecting warm winter coats, jumpers and jeans in excellent condition.
A donation drive for essential winter items is a great way to get your local community involved. If you would like to collect winter coats with your school, kinder, workplace or other community group please email us: donate@geelongmums.org
Supporter survey results
Thank you to everyone who completed our survey earlier this year. As a valued supporter of Geelong Mums, your feedback is very important to us.
We will be looking further into the results and contacting anyone that was interested in hearing back from us. There were some lovely messages of support included in there like this one:
“Geelong Mums has been such a inspirational adventure for me, I have seen first hand the wonderful impact they have on the community, the quality of items used are beautiful and thanks to Geelong Mums, my good friend was given a fresh start for her and her son. If I had to decide what career I wanted to look into in the future, I would straight away be looking into a job at Geelong Mums, while it's hard work, the reward at the end of the day is something I would like to be a part of. The team is always so helpful and takes great pride in what they do each day. Thank you Geelong Mums!”
