IT is not only global charities and governments helping to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 on the Indian sub-continent. Friends of India Network, tiny by comparison to UNICEF and Save the Children, is a Ballarat-based community group that aims to bring residents of Indian origin…
RED is the colour of love – think Valentine’s Day roses; of luxury – think Christian Louboutin shoes; and of danger – red flags, violence and anger. For the charity Impact, red exemplifies the violence and anger that too many women experience…

MARK, a single older man living in an inhuman situation and under tremendous mental stress, recently shifted into one of Avalon Centre’s Home for the Homeless, a one-bedroom flat in Dandenong. Deborah Holmes, Avalon’s president and founder, said when he moved in…

STORY Dogs, an Australian child literacy charity, recently partnered with Dr Claire Stevens, veterinarian, author and dog lover, as an ambassador for its aim to make reading fun for children. Story Dogs Co-founder Janine Sigley said “Claire will be helping Story Dogs…

The hole in the wall workshop in Port Melbourne, which houses Back2Bikes, is an oasis of calm and order on busy Williamstown Road. Back2Bikes is a not-for-profit social enterprise providing affordable transport for low-income earners, those in need, assisting local schools and…

Share the Dignity distributes period products to women and girls, and this week launched its Period Pride campaign. At the heart of the project is its Bloody Big Survey, a callout for at least 10,000 menstruating women to share their experience, thoughts…

It was sheer frustration and a will to recycle good-as-new furniture rather than have it end up as landfill, which led to Rachel Samuel’s lightbulb moment. “It all started with a couch,” Rachel said. “We were moving house and had a couch…

Jane Doe*, six months shy of release from Victoria’s Tarrengower Prison, decided the opportunity to prepare for getting a job after she was out was too good to pass up. She was one of the first cohorts of women accepted into the…

The casual throw-away line: ‘Did you know there is no child care in the magistrate courts?’ made Kathy Kaplan OAM realise this was something on which she could work. Affectionately described as a cat with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder) it took…
