Dear community,
Our impact - in numbers
From raising funds and recruiting volunteers to receive your gently loved baby goods and turning them into gifts for vulnerable Victorian babies and children, there are many moving parts to our organisation. When we look at the numbers and understand the sheer scale and reach of our service across Victoria, it paints a powerful picture of the difference you make by supporting and enabling our work.
Each year we produce this detailed 'impact tree', which shows key measures of the difference you make. The tree shows the collective impact of St Kilda Mums, Geelong Mums and Eureka Mums - we are one organisation, with the goal of reaching every Victorian child up to the age of six who needs our help. Please click on the image to take a closer look.
Beautiful words from a grateful Mum
For many families, it’s incredibly hard to face a winter without the essentials needed for their new baby's arrival. With the rising cost of living, it is difficult for many of us to make ends meet. This is compounded if you are not securely housed, perhaps don't have access to Medicare or work rights or are trying to rebuild after experiencing family violence. This is where, with our community's support - you - we can ensure new babies have everything they need for winter, including a safe and warm place to sleep and travel.
We love receiving messages of thanks from families we’ve helped such as this one....
“My journey being pregnant and being a single mother for a 6 year old, has been a tough and really rough one. I felt helpless, miserable, lost, and not sure who I could reach out to for support and help. Until I spoke to my midwife who recommended Healthy Mums, Healthy Babies to me! They got in touch with St Kilda Mums who gave me hope again that I’m not walking this journey alone - they restored my faith in humanity but not just helping me morally but also physically/financially.
I could not have been able to afford a pram especially with rent going through the roof lately, but they donated me a basically brand new pram! They provided things I didn't have or couldn't afford and I couldn't be more thankful.
I felt nothing but support and love! And I'm so thankful and grateful for all the support that was provided through St Kilda Mums!”
Meet Volunteer Laura & baby Bailey
Photo: Baby Bailey and Laura
“I volunteered at St Kilda Mums because the cause really resonated with me. I believe kids deserve to be kids, living their best lives, without the stresses of adult life intruding on them. St Kilda Mums post regularly on social media about needing more volunteers, and so once I was in a position to give them some of my time, I jumped on it!
My most memorable moments are always when the team members who are filling orders come to me needing to put together urgent and specific orders to be collected that day for a family. It really brings to life for me the impact the organisation has and why we do what we do.
St Kilda mums matter because there are so many children’s clothes, toys, toiletries, nappies, and feeding items in the world which either don’t get used at all, or get used very little. Rehoming these to those in need makes a huge difference to the lives of families who are going through a tough period.”
Our volunteers are the heart and soul of St Kilda Mums and we couldn’t do what we do without them. If you’d like to find out more about volunteering with us and the various roles you could help with please click below to find out more.
Our generous community
Photo: Volunteers keeping warm in the warehouse
Our volunteers literally weather all conditions to ensure your beautiful donations are re-homed across the state.
Melbourne winters are not hospitable in the average warehouse so it was a long held dream for us to install overhead heating to comfortably welcome our volunteers throughout the cold months.
One of the key barriers to us was cost - quotes were coming in at over $20,000 and our budget was $7,000.
We reached out to Leonard at All Electrics Melbourne to see how far this would stretch and to our complete gratitude, not only did they offer their time pro bono, they sourced the heating at a great price and got partner trades to donate their time.
Small but mighty charities like ours could not do what we do without the support of our local community.
Special thanks to Leonard, Josh, Vince & Donna and to everyone in our community who enables us to do what we do best.
Workplace Volunteering
Photo: Vanguard Australia workplace volunteers presenting their work
Throughout the year, we have had the privilege of hosting many companies eager to offer their employees an opportunity to give back to the community through workplace volunteering. Vanguard Australia, pictured above, recently spent the day with us and we were impressed with their work ethic, enthusiasm and commitment to making a difference. Workplace Volunteering can be a wonderful team building exercise while that creates meaningful social impact. We look forward to seeing you on the warehouse floor!
1800-GOT-JUNK?
Photo: 1800-GIT-JUNK arriving for a collection
Like many charities, we are unable to re-home every item donated to us. This could be because it fails our stringent safety standards, or it may be broken or missing a vital part that can’t be replaced. For these goods, we look towards partners who are also focused on recycling and avoiding landfill.
We are very excited about our ongoing partnership with 1800-GOT-JUNK?; Michael and the team at Winterton Rd, Clayton are absolutely amazing and we love seeing their truck pull up to take our items that need further recycling. Big big thanks to them!
From us all at St Kilda, Geelong and Eureka Mums, thank you so much for your incredible support.
Warm regards
Chief Executive Officer