Our story

2023 marks a significant milestone for Geelong Mums as we celebrate our 10th birthday! We’ve come a long way since our inception in 2013 when we followed in the footsteps of St Kilda Mums in Melbourne.

In April 2013, Geelong Mums was established by a group of five local mums led by Kate Betts. For the first 12 months, we operated entirely as a volunteer group from a small shed and from our own homes. We helped more than 300 families.

With our impact growing, in August 2014 we appointed our first employee, General Manager Kate Kent. We then moved into larger premises in South Geelong, significantly expanding our operations. In 2017, with the community's tremendous support, we rented the neighbouring building.

Ten years on, and we now support over 6,000 babies and children each year. This is an extraordinary increase from the 300 a year we supported when we first started. In the past ten years, we are proud to announce that we have helped over 40,000 babies and children and provided families with goods worth over $13.4 million.

Geelong Mums is founded on the generosity of volunteers. Our volunteers work during their free time, often juggling paid work and their family requirements. From the many volunteers who help out in the warehouse, to the individuals and groups who knit or create clothing bundles at home. Then there are the corporate volunteers who participate in our workplace volunteering program. Put simply, we couldn’t do what we do without our volunteers.

Geelong Mums is a branch of St Kilda Mums, operating under its legal entity and governance structure.

Geelong Mums is a branch of St Kilda Mums, operating under its legal entity and governance structure. Geelong Mums has its own operations committee based in Geelong with three members, and Kate Betts is now a member of the St Kilda Mums Board. The third branch of the group of three is Eureka Mums in Ballarat.