Lane Cove 2022 Food Drive for the House of Welcome

St Michael’s Parish Lane Cove and the local community are holding a food drive for the House of Welcome. The Food Drive will be from 9 May to 25 May 2022.

What is the House of Welcome?

Believe it or not, despite covid bringing flights into Australia almost to a stand still for a couple of years, as of August last year are still more than 15,000 asylum seekers living in NSW, a reflection of how difficult and drawn-out the process can be.  According to the Refugee Council of Australia, in August last year, there were over 38,000 refugees seeking asylum. https://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/asylum-community/).

The House of Welcome (HoW) is committed to assisting refugees and people seeking asylum without discrimination on the basis of age, gender, race, sexuality and religion. HoW recognises that this group of people, displaced from their homes and homelands through war, conflict or persecution arrive in Australia suffering from trauma and loss; they are in need of help and accompaniment, especially those who have been further traumatised by lengthy periods in Immigration Detention and the difficulties of settlement.   

Clients come to the House of Welcome through word of mouth and by referral from other organisations. The HoW ensures they get a welcome, and that they understand their rights and get a fair opportunity to realise their human rights. The HoW often supports those most in need, those who are not eligible for any housing, financial or medical support, those at greatest risk of destitution and hardship. The HoW also supports the settlement and empowerment of its clients so that they can join the local community with a sense of pride and dignity.

HoW has a casework team that support their clients with medical and legal referrals and a housing coordinator who looks after all HoW properties for transitional housing in Western Sydney.  HoW is driven by its volunteers who provide a welcoming reception, English classes, job support, orientation and accompaniment to appointments, gardening and home maintenance, social activities and much, much more.

Why Does HoW have a Food Bank?

Access to a food bank, stocked entirely through donations, is one of the services the House of Welcome provides to their clients.  The opportunity for those in need to choose their own food from the food bank restores some dignity to people living in desperate circumstances and reassures them that there are people in Australia who care about them.

How Does the Food Drive Work?

Over the past five years, the Lane Cove community has collected well over 10 000 food items thanks to the generosity of the Lane Cove residents and Woolworths and Coles.

Once again, Woolworths and Coles are behind this initiative and there is a collection bin at those supermarkets until 25 May 2022.

If you would like to help by popping a couple of recommended food items into one of the collection bins located at Woolworths or Coles before 25  May 2022, that would be most appreciated.

 

A food drive has been held for the last five years and our Lane Cove Community has been so generous.  Over five tonnes of food has been delivered to the House of Welcome.

Just check out the before and after photos below. Thank you to the local volunteers who collect the food, sort the food and then stack the cupboards.

house of welcome

 

house of welcome

 

List of Required Donations Items

If you’d like to help, perhaps save the list to your phone and add a few items to the donation bin from your next shop.

  • Cooking Oil (1litre)
  • Long Life Milk (1litre)
  • Basmati Rice (2kg)
  • Shampoo & Conditioner
  • Soap & Deodorant
  • Toothbrushes & Toothpaste
  • Sugar (1kg)
  • Tinned Fruit
  • Tinned Vegetables
  • Tinned Tuna (Plain In Oil)
  • Biscuits (Sweet & Savoury)
  • Tea & Coffee
  • Honey & Jam
  • Breakfast Cereal
  • Dishwashing Liquid
  • Laundry Detergent
  • Chocolates & Treats
  • Sanitary Napkins
  • Nappies (Walker & Junior Sizes)

For more information about House of Welcome, visit their Website.


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