Friends with Dignity: Great Aussie Charities You’ve Never heard of…
This week we spoke with Friends with Dignity, a not-for-profit organisation run by volunteers who engages the community to make a real difference through practical support for domestic violence.
Friend with Dignity is an active social movement initiating change by raising awareness of the damaging effects to individuals affected through social injustice, in particular domestic violence, not limited to women and children but extend their services to assist men and the LGBTI group.
We provide aid to individuals and families through programs involving donations and practical assistance by community volunteers.
We intend on rebuilding lives one person at a time, and bringing out the best in them!
Where did it all begin?
In South East Queensland; our founder Manuela identified a gap where women and children leaving refuge had to return to the violence & abuse due to a lack of material and financial assistance .
Friends with Dignity also acknowledged the lack of active and immediate supports for men and members identifying as LGBTQI. We are committed to assist anyone affected by these crimes.
Why is this a problem?
Domestic and Family Violence has not been recognised for the true crime it is!
It not only affects the victim directly but their family, friends, employment and has a huge ripple effect on Society. The Violence needs to be recognised and responded to as any other assault or crime is, and the community needs to shift the blame from the Victim to hold the perpetrators accountable.
A day in the life at Friends with Dignity:
We are a not-for-profit organisation run by volunteers that engage with the Community to make a difference through practical support. Our CEO/Founder Manuela works as a Nurse full time and heads our team made up of 7 Board members with 3 Executive members who deal with the daily activities.
We never meet our clients nor do we ever know their names. We work through our network of referring agencies to ensure our clients’ privacy is always protected. We are here with no judgement but to ensure they have a friend they may never meet and are treated with dignity.
In total we have completed 273 homes (sanctuaries) and over 150+ Urgent Requests.
Urgent requests are for people in refuge or that have already settled in their new homes. Their clients may have just arrived in refuge and need a cot for their baby, toiletries for themselves, or they may have just moved into their new home and need a dining table.
Types of requests we receive:
- A bicycle to help a little friend get to and from school.
- Driving lessons for a mum learning independence for the first time.
- A formal dress for a little friend celebrate the end of her schooling with her friends.
- Baby things to setup a nursery for a mum who was eight months pregnant and just left an abusive relationship
- A chest of drawers for a refuge
- Removalist costs to help a family escape a violent home
Impact Story:
She loved her bedroom, and was so grateful for the new linen, and the towels and other items she noticed in her cupboard…
She adored her bathrobe set, and said she is going to feel like lady of the manor floating around her little flat after her bath. She expressed her gratitude over and over and asked me several times to make sure that the volunteers who had created her little sanctuary knew how much she appreciated everything, and the effort that had been made especially for her… She said she understood why it wasn’t possible to meet the Friends w Dignity volunteers, but if she did she just knows they would have beautiful kind auras…
She kept repeating I am so lucky… I will never forget this kindness…
And to think I could be standing right next to the person in a supermarket who did this wonderful thing for me.
What do you do with your donations?
We accept pre-loved items that are clean and in good working order on an as needs basis. We work on the premise, that we accept items that you would be happy giving your best friend. The only new items we require are pillows, toaster, kettle and chopping boards. Everything else is pre-loved.
We often get a constant flow of donations and we ensure that we collaborate and share with as many services or organisations.
Monetary donations are invested directly into the work we do, be it purchasing items that have not been donated and helping pay for contractors to assist in collecting and delivering furniture, in our Sanctuary Program, to helping families financially with unexpected costs under our Urgent Request or Little Friends Programs.
Are you Tax deductible?
Yes, we have full DGR status. A tax deductible receipt can be issued upon requested.
Any upcoming events or need for additional support?
Our Christmas Toy Drive and Back To School Drive are being launched next week. The Christmas Toy Drive asks the community to donate new unwrapped toys for children (0–18yrs old) and parents who find themselves in refuge during the festive season due to Domestic Violence.
Purchase a Gift for a child or pamper item for parents (unwrapped please) aor organise a workplace collection. All unwrapped gifts are to be dropped off to one of the drop off locations by no later than the 1st of December. More info here: http://www.friendswithdignity.org.au/2017-christmas-toy-drive/
The Back To School Drive seeks donations of backpacks, water bottles, lunch boxes and school stationary for all children in refuge who have faced the trauma of domestic violence. This is to ensure no child starts the school year without these essential items.
Drop-off points for the Back To School Drive throughout the country (especially South-East Queensland) will be available on our website.
We certainly rely on Social media to share our work and get people involved.
Or stay up to date on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/FriendsWithDignity
For more on Friends with Dignity check out the website:
http://www.friendswithdignity.org.au
