Annual Report

2015

Helping Hands Mission Inc. is a Victorian based not-for-profit organisation that provides emergency support to Victorian families and individuals who are suffering as a result of extreme circumstance.

Working in partnership with a number of local and rural aid agencies, we ensure emergency and material aid is accessible across a broad range of community needs.

Life is unpredictable, and any one of us can be affected by extreme and unexpected circumstances at any time. In Australia, many communities feel the devastating impact of droughts and bushfires each year, while other personal issues like illness or a sudden loss of income can place a lot of stress and pressure on families and individuals. Our aim at Helping Hands Mission Inc. is to be there for those people who may not know where their next meal is coming from, or where they will be sleeping that night. We run a range of different programs that provide emergency aid and material aid, so that vulnerable members of our community have one less thing to worry about, and our social inclusion programs work to reduce isolation and loneliness in the community, providing people with a special place they can come to and feel at home.

Our legal status is defined as:

A registered charity holding an Endorsement for Charity tax;

Public Benevolent Institution (PBI) status;

Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) allowing tax deductions for donations

Fringe Benefits Tax exempt

Helping Hands Mission Inc. supports open and transparent communication with stakeholders whilst respecting the confidentiality of client information. A full set of our financial accounts is available free of charge from our offices. Please contact (03) 9374 4236 to obtain a copy.

INTRODUCTION

We’re so proud of the role Helping Hands Mission Inc. continues to play in supporting families and individuals across Victoria and 2015 has been another enormous year. Together with our volunteers, our supporters, our donors and our customers, we have been able to:

Grow our volunteer base to over 160 - that’s one hundred and sixty people all working together to achieve some amazing things;

Open our new Roxburgh Park shop and provide access to quality clothing and furniture etc. to families in the City of Hume;

Relocate our Bridgewater based Community Pantry and work with the Inglewood Lions Club to provide food to over 200 families across the Loddon Shire each week;

Successfully facilitate over 250 Work For the Dole places across our organisation – delivering hands-on experience and support to local jobseekers.

Purchase a brand new truck to support our emergency and material aid thanks to the tremendous support of the Inglewood Community Branch of the Bendigo Bank;

Continue to run three great Op Shops – each with it s own little personality and band of loyal customers;

Transport women from all over Victoria down to Melbourne for a day of shopping and pampering, and most importantly some time out and a chance to talk with friends;

Operate a Community Kitchen which serves morning tea, a hot lunch and after noon tea five days a week and all at no charge;

Restructure our material aid program so that we can work closely with more agencies to support more families in need with whitegoods, furniture, linen and clothing;

Open our new Toy Barn at Fullarton Road – a wonderful resource that ensures all families can access great quality toys at minimal cost

Launch our Assisted Volunteers Program which ensures everyone has the opportunity to become a volunteer and get involved; and

Work with Bendigo based job agencies and the Inglewood Lions Club to open our new Bridgewater Op Shop will provides jobs, funds, draws in tourists and brings a renewed sense of community to the main street of Bridgewater.

It’s very easy to talk about the big things that we have achieved, but it is all of the little things that we are able to do every day which are the heart and soul of our organisation. Each day, Helping Hands Mission Inc. is privileged to be able to help all sorts of people in all sorts of ways. When a customer or a client first walks through the door, they are treated dignity and made to feel welcome Time is always taken to understand how we can best help each person and usually, with a little bit of effort and a little bit of ‘thinking outside the square’, we can make sure we find and deliver the best outcome.

As Helping Hands Mission Inc. continues to go from strength to strength, we look forward to building on the services that we provide and working with a growing number of businesses and organisations to help Victorian families in need. We know that with the ongoing support of the local community and our amazing volunteers that the next twelve months promises to be an exciting ride…

YEAR IN REVIEW

The Helping Hands Mission Inc. Op Shops sit at the core of our work. They successfully generate the funding necessary to support all of our projects; they provide a base for the distribution of emergency and material aid; and most importantly, they are where our volunteers come together to be the face of Helping Hands Mission Inc.

We are proud to now run four Op Shops throughout Melbourne – in Keilor East, Roxburgh Park, and our two stores in Airport West – and have just opened our fifth store in the regional Victorian town of Bridgewater on Loddon.

Each of our shops is stocked with a great range of stock all of which comes to us as a donation. We are continually overwhelmed by the generosity of people and the great level of community support that have and we do our very best to ensure that every item donated finds a new home.

We continue to trade in Melbourne six days a week thanks to our committed army of volunteers. Mention the name “Helping Hands” in the region and you’ll not only hear stories of amazing vintage dresses and shoes that were found, you’ll hear about the kindness and compassion shown by our volunteers who go the extra mile to ensure families are looked after; as always, our goal is to provide more than just a retail shop, it’s also a place people can come to help them find the items and support they need to get by each week.

OP SHOPS

Over the last six years, Helping Hands Mission Inc. have worked closely with the Inglewood Lions Club, and in early 2015 talks began about the possibility of bringing a Helping Hands Mission Inc. op shop to central Victoria.

We found a beautiful venue - the old church right in the centre of town in Bridgewater on Loddon, complete with a hall right next door perfect for storing our stock.

Helping Hands already provide emergency and material aid right across Victoria, as well as our hugely successful breakfast program that ensures over 1200 kids in rural areas start the day with a full tummy. Having a physical retail presence in Bridgewater will allow us to be even more connected to the local communities and distribute aid in the most effective way possible.

Our food pantry will also be relocated to the site, which will mean more efficient distribution of the fresh fruit, vegetables, and food hampers we currently provide to 132 families each week.

We’re excited to add to the number of op shops we run and we know this will have a huge impact on Bridgewater and the region, as small towns like Bridgewater often miss out on funding and projects with everyone competing for the same dollar. We’re proud of the fact that all funds raised will go straight back to the Lions club and, in turn, the local community, and we also know the shop will make a difference to the local economy and jobs market as our Work for the Dole programs begin at the Church Op Shop.

BRIDGEWATER ON LODDON

Each week, Helping Hands Mission Inc. works with a range of different agencies across Victoria, and particularly in the Hume and Moonee Valley regions, to distribute emergency aid to families and individuals who desperately need assistance. These people may have found themselves in extreme circumstances due to a number of factors, such as domestic violence, unexpected changes in employment, severe or sudden illnesses or natural disasters.

Working in partnership with local agencies allows us to distribute the essential items that people need to get by every day, such as non-perishable food items and toiletries. These are the items that we all need and often take for granted and our aim is to give families and individuals one less thing to have to think about during an already stressful time.

We’re proud to report that during 2015 we have purchased and distributed over 300 tonnes of food, helping to feed over 400 families each week. Fresh fruit and vegetables are an important part of the emergency aid that we provide

In 2015, we also launched our Bridgewater based Rural Food Pantry. Working in conjunction with the Inglewood Lions Club, we now distribute food to a growing number of communities with the Loddon Shire, including Kerang, Dunolly, Boort, Charlton, Dingee, Arnold and Powlett.

EMERGENCY AID

“Thank God for the Helping Hands food truck. I’m quite sure that you’ll never truly understand how grateful we are to see it arrive each week…” - Aid recipient, Loddon Shire.

Helping Hands Mission Inc. provides material aid to those members of our community who just need a hand getting back on their feet. While our Emergency Aid Program meets the most urgent and basic needs of someone who is facing extreme circumstance, the Material Aid Program provides access to those other every day requirements that most of us expect we’ll always have, such as furniture, white goods, bedding and clothing.

The number of agencies we work with has continued to grow in 2015 and we now support over 40 charities across Victoria, including:

MATERIAL AID

• Banyule Housing Support Group • Berry Street • Caroline Chisholm Society • Charcoal Lane Mission • Country Women’s Association • Connecting Home • Department of Human Services • Doutta Galla Aged Care Services • Eastern Emergency Relief Network • Essendon Citizens Advice Bureau • Father Bob McGuire Foundation • Inglewood Lions Club • Lentara Uniting Care • Lockington Development Committee

• MacKillop Family Services • Melbourne City Mission • Merri Outreach Support Services • Migrant Resource Centre • Moonee Valley Family Services • Moonee Valley Maternal and Child Health

Services • Plenty Valley Community Health • Project Respect • Rochester and Elmore District Health

Services • Salvation Army - Craigieburn • Salvation Army - Eaglehawk • Sunshine and Deer Park Lions Club • Victoria University Student Welfare • Western Region Health Centre

Wintringham Specialist Aged Care

As the face of our organisation, Helping Hands Mission Inc. would like to acknowledge the work our dedicated team of 140 volunteers do each week. There are so many jobs to be completed at Helping Hands, and our volunteers turn up to their shifts each week with a smile, ready to tackle the tasks assigned to them.

Whether it’s helping to fundraise for and deliver our programs, serve our customers at one of our four Melbourne stores, or collect, transport, pack, unpack, sort, hang and process the huge volume of donations we receive, there’s nothing our volunteers can’t do! Each one of them comes from a different walk of life with a different skill set, so they all have something unique to contribute.

We know how much our volunteers mean to our customers; at the front line of the organisation, they are the ones who listen and lend a hand to the people who come in to our stores.

At Helping Hands our volunteers have a laugh together, build wonderful friendships and support one another, all while doing something amazing for their local community. We want to thank you all for your commitment to the organisation and hope that you know the difference you are making to people who need help most.

OUR VOLUNTEERS

Volunteer’s Lunch - Christmas 2015

2015 also saw the launch of our Volunteer’s Pantry – a program that we are very proud of.

As an organisation, we are dependent on the amazing contribution our volunteers make. With over 150 volunteers across five sites we are blessed to have the support of a great range of people who come in all shapes and sizes and from all walks of life.

What we have learnt is that often it is those who are most willing to help others that need a little help themselves. Our Volunteers Pantry provides all of our volunteers with access to a bag of fresh fruit and vegies, groceries and toiletries each week. Volunteers can either utilise the products themselves or pass them on to a family that they know might appreciate the support. It is our way of saying thank you to all of our volunteers and for those who need a bit of a ‘helping hand’ we know it is certainly appreciated.

VOLUNTEERS PANTRY

Over the last twelve months, Helping Hands Mission Inc. has operated a sizeable Work For the Dole program across three of our sites. The program sees us host a range of job seekers across five key areas of our organisation, providing them with hands-on experience that closely aligns to a key industry stream, including Retail, Warehousing, Aid & Logistics, our Community Kitchen and our Community Shed.

As a not for profit, our job seeker participants become part of our broader volunteer family. We really value the contribution they make to our organisation and we want to help them on the path to long-term employment.

WORK FOR THE DOLE 2015

Helping Hands Mission Inc. understands the important role that a WFD activity can play in helping a participant secure ongoing work and we are committed to supporting that transition. Through our ‘Employment Partners’ program, we have been able to utilise our networks to engage a range of businesses who have committed to working with us and considering our WFD participants when they have a recruitment need. This approach has seen many of our participants secure ongoing employment and take that first real step towards becoming independent.

Our Community Kitchen at Fullarton Road continues to play an important role in combatting social isolation and loneliness in the region. Our wonderful kitchen team serve up a delicious lunch every week day, as well as morning and afternoon tea. This provides our customers with not just a nourishing meal, but also the chance to come and find a friendly face and a listening ear, in a safe and welcoming environment. Our guest book is filled with lovely comments from happy guests who have enjoyed their time there.

The Community Kitchen is part of our Work for the Dole activities, so as well as providing nourishment and a safe and friendly space, it also gives jobseekers an opportunity to gain valuable experience and skills under the guidance of an experienced supervisor. Meals are made using donated ingredients where possible, and the remaining costs are covered by Helping Hands. From those who have a dollar or two to spare, we gratefully accept donations via our donation box on the buffet.

We’re extremely proud of the work our kitchen team do every day – our guests are served amazing meals like chicken pot pies, lasagna, roast vegetable couscous, pasta dishes and Caesar salad, and for dessert there’s decadent cakes, puddings, muffins and scones. It’s really important to us that we offer dignity and respect to those who need our services, and providing our guests with restaurant-quality meals they can look forward to is one way we do this.

“Very warm, welcome and delicious kitchen. Thank you, excellent idea.” – Sharon Kilby, Altona Meadows

COMMUNITY KITCHEN

COMMUNITY SHED

As an organisation, Helping Hands Mission Inc. are very blessed to have the support of the local community, many businesses and organisations, and every day we receive donations of clothing and furniture to support our programs. Some of the furniture we receive needs a bit of TLC before we can pass it on to a family in need and so the idea for our Community Shed was born. Thanks to the amazing support of the Keilor East branch of the Bendigo Community Bank, our goal of opening and operating a Community Shed has come to life. We now have a fully functional shed, run by two supervisors and a host of volunteers, that allows us to repair and upcycle the furniture donations we receive into amazing pieces that we can pass on to families who need a helping hand. People work together to rescue and repair damaged furniture, upcycle or recycle older pieces of furniture and sometimes work to create a brand new piece. With a little bit of creativity, some patience and some skill, it is amazing what can be produced. It has also become a place where people from across the community come together to lend a hand, share their skills or maybe learn a new one, and most importantly have a chat.

EMPLOYMENT PARTNERS PROGRAM

Our Employment Partners Program (EPP) is an essential part of our Work for the Dole (WFD) activities and our support for the long-term unemployed. Through this program we develop close relationships with a range of small and large organisations who, like us, are committed to the long-term employment outcomes of our jobseekers. When a job seeker joins a project at Helping Hands Mission Inc., they are given a mentor who works with them to develop an Employment Pathway Plan, ensuring that the activities they take part in at Helping Hands are relevant to the industry they hope to be a part of. Over a period of 3 – 12 months, participants in our programs are taught valuable skills in one of our six industry streams – retail, hospitality, administration, warehousing, cabinetry, and distribution. They engage in a voluntary real-life work environment where there are clear expectations about their daily responsibilities, and general capabilities like punctuality and teamwork can be practiced and assessed. We provide post-placement support, and we work to remove any further barriers to employment. We know that some job seekers are apprehensive about the process of gaining employment, so we run resume and interview technique workshops and will attend the first job interview with them if required. We are a charity first and foremost, so our focus is always on turning people’s lives around and providing support to the most vulnerable members of our society. This means that rather than viewing WFD and job seeker Voluntary Work simply as an opportunity to gain an extra pair of hands for our organisation, we recognise the opportunity we have to make a significant difference to the lives of our participants, providing them with a sense of purpose and direction. As a not for profit, our job seeker participants become part of our broader volunteer family. We really value the contribution they make to our organisation and we want to help them on the path to long-term employment. Once a project has concluded and the participant has gained new skills, our EPP closes the loop and ensures that there’s a positive outcome for all parties.

Without the support of these amazing businesses and organisations, we would not be able to do the work that we do.

OUR PARTNERS & SPONSORS

Over the last twelve months, the work of Helping Hands Mission Inc. has been overseen by a wonderful group of volunteers. Together they make up the Helping Hands Mission Inc. Board of Management and their commitment and compassion to helping people deserves to be recognised.

Mrs Melanie Kent, Chairperson, Chief Executive

Mrs Nola Tognolini – Treasurer

Mr Paul Cadzow - Secretary

Mrs Kaari Rowell - Board Member

Ms Amber Wallace – Board Member

Mrs Gaye Roberts – Board Member

Mrs Gail Collins – Administration

Ms Maddy Kirby - Communications

BOARD OF MANAGEMENT

FINANCIALS

FINANCIALS

FINANCIALS

FINANCIALS

Helping Hands Mission Inc. is a non-discriminatory, non-political, charitable organization. We rely on community support to continue to deliver a growing level of emergency support to families and individuals in need. You can help us by: Donating non-perishable food items, clothing, household items and toiletries. We are more than

happy to arrange pick up at any time; Making a financial contribution. Donations of $2.00 and over are tax deductible. Becoming a volunteer at Helping Hands Mission Inc. - we can always use an extra pair of hands; Organising a fund raising event to aid Helping Hands Mission Inc.; or Becoming a partner of Helping Hands Mission Inc.

If you need more information or would like to find out more about the work of Helping Hands Mission Inc. and how you might be able to help, please contact us today. We’d love to hear from you. Helping Hands Mission Inc. – supporting Victorian families in need.

Helping Hands Mission Inc.

Helping Hands Mission Inc. 492 Fullarton Road, Airport West Admin: (03) 9374 4236 Fax: (03) 9379 0943 Email: help@helpinghandsmission.org.au Web: www.helpinghandsmission.org.au