Category: Volunteering

Voices Unleashed — Hunger Project’s fundraiser

Eight of David's friends at the choir recitalWent to see the Honeybees and Cafe of the Gate of Salvation sing their hearts out for a fundraising effort on behalf of the Hunger Project at the Sydney Presbytery Hall, Glebe.

They also held raffles and sold cupcakes, lamingtons and spicy winter mocktails.

David Joseph, a long-time member of the Cafe choir, organised the event, which raised about $4000.

After, we headed back to Newtown to discuss the state of the world at Sir Braxton’s Chocolate Bar over hot chocolate.

The Hunger Project funds an Unleashed Women program which empowers women through education, microfinance, agriculture and health, with the skills, knowledge and resources they need to break the poverty cycle. All of the money raised go towards ending hunger in Africa, India and Bangladesh.

Asylum Seekers Centre community speakers program

Am one of the community speakers. Have done one speech so far, to about 60 people.

https://asylumseekerscentre.org.au/introducing-our-community-speakers-program/

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We have a network of over 25 community speakers, who come from a wide range of professional and cultural backgrounds. Our speakers are an important link between our Centre and the community. They have been specially recruited and trained with the skills and knowledge required to talk to the community about people seeking asylum and the work of the Centre.

Our presentations

Our presentations are free and suitable for a wide variety of audiences such as:
Community groups and clubs
Schools and higher education organisations
Churches and other religious groups
Professional associations and organisations
Health organisations
Multicultural groups

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Exodus Foundation

Volunteered this Christmas for the Exodus Foundation’s annual lunch for 3000 homeless and disadvantaged people.

A very hot day and fabulous atmosphere. Starts with a church service, then lunch (served for three huge groups of people at different times) in a big marquee. Great entertainers sang Carpenters, Nancy Sinatra and Johnny Cash songs.

The volunteers are fun to hang out with and we sang Christmas carols during our breaks. Father Christmas had a lovely decorated grotto and distributed donated presents. At the end of our shift, we got a free Christmas lunch of turkey and cranberry sauce, ham, veggies, salad and choc cake for dessert!

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Lifeline’s 50th anniversary

The phone used to take the first Lifeline call in 1963.
The phone used to take the first Lifeline call in 1963.

Went to 50th anniversary of Lifeline, for ex-Lifeline vollies. I was involved for a year in the early 2000s. It was harrowing, once took 4 suicidal calls in one shift.
John Brogden is Lifeline chairman and credited the organisation with saving his life. He was Opposition Leader, with a chance of being Premier, and had had a quick rise to the top. But suddenly everything seemed grim and suicide seemed like the best choice.
Another bloke, Ivan Reicheit, 96, was with the original Lifeline team and recalled how he went out with the Trouble Team (when Lifeline rushed out to stop people jumping off the Harbour bridge). “We got to a man’s house and he was flat on the floor and we couldn’t get in. Luckily, a kitchen window was slightly ajar and I prised it open and climbed over the sink. He was a mature man who owned several menswear shops and he’d lived with his mother, who’d recently died. He said, “You men have everything.” But Ivan said they felt they were nobodies, next to this successful businessman. They waited with him until an ambulance arrived.

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Social Justice for Life conference

Went to the Social Justice for Life Conference at University of Sydney for law students.

Lots of speakers and it was very interesting.

Redfern Legal Centre did a great presentation and we did a role play where I had to be an angry former drug addict with a violent drug-addicted partner. My child had been staying at her grandmother’s and then was taken away by FACS. And my response to every problem had to be expressed via cursing and/or storming out.

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