Love beats landfill
Around 1 in 6 Australian children live in poverty, according to Poverty in Australia 2023. This means their families are struggling to meet basic needs like shelter, food, clothing, education and health care.
As its name suggests, Big Group Hug is here to wrap its arms around Victorian families doing it tough, providing essential items like clothes, toiletries, car seats, prams, books and toys to babies and children for free.
Big Group Hug accepts donations of pre-loved and new items from both individuals and businesses, rescuing unwanted goods destined for landfill and repurposing them for families in need.
Supported by a grant from Sustainability Victoria, Big Group Hug has been able to expand its reach, opening a new hub in Airport West last year to complement its warehouse in Thomastown.
Big Group Hug has seen a 41% increase in requests for support over the past financial year due to interest rate rises and inflation.
Fundraising and Communications Manager Maria Quigley says the hub at Airport West has helped the children’s charity reach those new families, many of which have never needed support before.
“We’re supporting around 40 additional agencies compared to last year and a lot of that is due to the Airport West hub that Sustainability Victoria funded because it means that we are physically in that community,” Maria says.
“It really opened us up to a whole new group of families.”
Since opening last May, the Airport West hub has supported 2,000 children in Melbourne’s west, helping to divert more than 100 tonnes of usable textiles and children’s items from landfill in the last financial year.
Maria says a group of around 350 local volunteers come together to sort, clean, repair, safety check and pack the donations.
As well as knowing they’re helping young families, volunteers are inspired by the difference they’re making to our environment.
“For many of our volunteers, helping Big Group Hug is about sustainability and knowing they’re diverting goods from landfill,” Maria says.
“We also have volunteers upcycling sheets and doona covers and pillowcases to make drawstring bags that we use for toiletries and toy packs.”
Big Group Hug will only give donated goods to families if they are clean, in good working condition and comply with Australian safety standards.
For items that don’t meet their criteria, Big Group Hug will pass them on to other sustainable organisations.
“We have a partnership with SCRgroup, which is a textile recycler, and we give clothing we can’t use to them,” Maria says.
“In turn, they give us any prams they might come across when they’re doing collections from people’s homes.
“If we get sports shoes, which are a bit too niche for us, we’ll pass them on to Boots For All. If we have a surplus of toys, we’ll contact Mums Supporting Families in Need and see if they need anything.
“So we’re always trying to find someone to take items we receive but can’t use.”
Big Group Hug has also established relationships with Melbourne Airport and several large shopping centres, accepting unclaimed property from them like toys, prams and strollers which would otherwise be thrown away.
Maria says the gift of a pram can change a life.
“For someone with limited transport options, a pram can mean getting to your maternal child health appointments,” Maria says.
“It can mean social connection. It can mean someone with a newborn can leave the house. That’s huge.”
Celebrate Children’s Week while supporting Big Group Hug by hosting your own fundraiser. You can also donate goods or volunteer your time.