Our region has many organisations that provide support to people who are experiencing challenging times. These are organisations that can share your experience and provide both care and friendship.
Burwood Chatworks – new Umbrella Dementia Café in East Burwood
Burwood Chatworks, a new Umbrella Dementia Café (UDC) has opened at Burwood Brickworks. It caters for individuals and their family care-partners living with dementia. The group will meet every 2nd and 4th Wednesday to share stories, have a laugh, support each other and meet new, non-judgemental friends.
Umbrella Dementia Cafés support and empower couples, families and people in the community living with dementia. This latest initiative has been achieved through collaboration with Frasers Property, Australia, owners of Burwood Brickworks Shopping Centre, with whom UDC share a passion to build responsive and inclusive community environments.
If you require any further information about the Umbrella Dementia Cafes, email enquiries@UmbrellaDementiaCafes.com.au or phone 0401 364 696. Go to their website at https://umbrelladementiacafes.com.au
Thursday Girls Group
Do you know someone who has been diagnosed with Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC)? You may know it as Stage 4 or advanced breast cancer. Once upon a time this was considered a disease which affected primarily older women, however a recent study found that 4,400 women in Victoria alone have MBC, and the reality is that women aged from their mid-20s are represented in those numbers.
Thursday Girls Group is a small not-for-profit which has been delivering free, weekly, professionally-led group counselling to women with this diagnosis for nearly 30 years across all of Melbourne, but predominantly in the eastern suburbs.
You can get in touch with us by emailing jodi@thursdaygirls.org or check out our website for more information at https://thursdaygirls.org.
The Edge Community Fund
Building confidence, connection and inclusion for local kids and twenty years strong!
The Edge Community Fund is a local not for profit based in Ashburton run totally by volunteers. The Craig Family Centre provides office space to the Edge at the Craig Family Centre.
The Edge offers financial support to families of children and young people who are experiencing financial hardship in Ashburton, Ashwood, Chadstone and surrounding areas. There are three programs: Emergency funds, My Very Own Library and Year 5 and 6 scholarships at partner schools.
A wonderful grant of $20,000 just received from Inner East Community Bank has added to generous individual donations and proceeds of our famous Easter Raffle supported by Ashburton traders. We are now spreading our wings through partnerships with Ashburton, Parkhill and Solway Primary Schools, Ashwood High School, Craig Family Centre and Ashwood Children’s Centre with 3 or 4 more partnerships to come.
Each partner primary school administers scholarships worth $1,000 each for a year 5 and 6 eligible student. There are also emergency funds available for playgroups, school activities, sports and clubs. The My Very Own program, backed by The Leaf Bookshop in Ashburton, enables eligible kinder and primary kids to select books to build a personal library at home.
You can help at any time by making a tax free donation, click here to donate online. All donations are tax deductible.
Check out our website www.theedge.org.au. We are located at 7 Samarinda Ave, Ashburton. Contact us by phone at (03) 9885 7789 or by email on info@theedge.org.au
Balwyn Evergreen Centre
We’re here to help you stay active, healthy and socially connected
Do you want to make new friends, keep active and stay socially connected? Then Balwyn Evergreen Centre is the place for you. We’re a dynamic and caring community offering a range of activities for seniors in and around Boroondara.
Designed to support seniors and their carers, Balwyn Evergreen Centre ensures you, or your family members, can live independently within a warm and supportive community. To read more about the work of Balwyn Evergreen Centre go here or to their website here.
Vasey RSL Care and Box Hill RSL Team up to Support Veterans at Risk of Homelessness
Over time, Vasey RSL Care and Box Hill RSL have worked together to support our ex-service community, including those at risk of homelessness. This support includes a recent generous commitment of $120,000 over three years from the Box Hill RSL Sub-Branch, to directly support the organisation’s V Centre Veteran Empowerment Program
Vasey RSL Care is Australia’s leading provider of ex-service accommodation, care and support, providing veteran-specific services to around 1000 ex-service people of all ages each year, and employing over 750 clinical, care support, veteran services staff and volunteers.
Services include rental units (social housing) for over 320 veterans, war widows and partners at eight city and three regional locations; home care provisions for older Australians wishing to remain in their own home; and residential aged care in Brighton, Brighton East, Bundoora and Frankston South and The V Centre Veteran Empowerment Program located in Ivanhoe, Victoria.
The V Centre Veteran Empowerment Program
Located in Ivanhoe, the V Centre Veteran Empowerment Program opened in February 2024. It is an industry-first, purpose-designed program that combines safe, stable accommodation with tailored support services to help veterans navigate the challenges of transitioning to civilian life and regain independence. Go to their website here to find out more.
Kew’s new learning and lifestyle hub for locals with disability
At Endeavour Foundation’s new Learning and Lifestyle hub in Kew, activities on offer include cooking, social engagements, fitness options, literacy and numeracy life skills programs, as well as access to Virtual Reality, video Thrive programs, and creative arts activities.
Located in the Kew Library, the new hub will open every Wednesday, supporting people to engage, learn and grow in their own time, and at their own pace.
To find out more about Endeavour Foundation and its services, call 1800 112 112, or go to endeavour.com.au.
Photo: credit Endeavour Foundation. Cutting ribbon – L to R Grant and Kylie (Kew L&L participants), Jess Wilson MP, Beverley Knowles (member on EF Board of Directors)
The Orange Door
The Orange Door is a free service for adults, children and young people who are experiencing or have experienced family violence and families who need extra support with the care of children. To find out more, go to their website here.
Left Write Hook
In Australia, 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 5 boys experience sexual abuse before the age of 18. The numbers are staggering, and one Melbourne-based charity is refusing to let this uncomfortable social issue hide in the shadows.
Left Write Hook runs an 8 week trauma recovery program that uses creative writing and non-contact boxing to empower survivors of childhood sexual abuse to reclaim their lives.
Eight Manningham residents are currently taking part in the program, which has been made possible thanks to the support of Manningham Council, Frank Bianco Boxing and Chickick fitness.
The charity hopes to secure future funding to run regular programs in the Manningham area and is continuing to seek expressions of interest from Manningham council residents who may be interested in taking part in future programs or training to run more programs in the area.
Left Write Hook started at a grassroots level in Ferntree Gully in 2019 and has since been the subject of an award-winning documentary film and a large-scale research trial at the University of Melbourne.
There are over 600 people on the waitlist for the Left Write Hook program, which is open to women and gender-diverse survivors and will soon be expanding to run men’s programs and LGBTQIA+ specific programs.
Anyone interested in joining a future program or becoming a trainer should visit the Left Write Hook website for more information: leftwritehook.org
Pathways for Carers Boroondara
Hawthorn Community House has established a new support group in Boroondara, providing unpaid carers with an opportunity to connect with others and receive support, services, and resources.
Meeting Location:
Hawthorn Community House
32 Henry St
Hawthorn VIC 3122
Time:
9.45am for a 10am start
Contact:
Carolyn Cuming on 9819 2629 or info@hch.org.au
For more information, carers can contact Hawthorn Community House on 9819 2629 or info@hch.org.au. For more information on the program, visit www.pathwaysforcarers.com.au
Eastern Emergency Relief Network (EERN)
EERN has been run by volunteers in the east of Melbourne for more than 25 years. It picks up donated furniture and other household items, checks them and places them in a warehouse in Mitcham. Local welfare agencies then bring people and families in need to select items, free of any cost.
Welcome to the Box Hill Prostate Cancer Support Group
We are a peer group offering support and information for men and their families affected by prostate cancer. We provide you with opportunities to meet men who are going through the same thing as you and talk about our shared experiences so that you feel less isolated and alone.
Karinya Counselling Center
We are a not-for-profit organisation, with a vision for providing high quality, low-cost services to people in need.
Mental wellbeing continues to be a high need area in current, challenging times. However, the cost of counselling support can prevent many families and individuals accessing the help they need.
At Karinya we have low fees – approximately half that of private consultants. We also offer a further concessional rate for those on concession cards. And we can discuss and negotiate individual fees for people in financial hardship. Karinya counselling services include male and female counsellors, play therapy and creative arts therapy.
To find out more about Karinya Counselling Centre, click here.
StreetSmart Australia
The team at StreetSmart believe everyone should have a safe and secure place to call home. Funds raised through our innovative campaigns are distributed through our Community Grants and Material Aid Programs, often privileging locality where donations are fed back into projects as close to where they are raised as possible, and target smaller services who work to support people experiencing homelessness. Since it was founded in 2003, StreetSmart has distributed more than $12 million to over 1,100 local organisations across Australia.
W: www.streetsmartaustralia.org
Blackburn Men’s Walk and Talk
1st and 3rd Saturday of the month at 8.00am
Starting and finishing outside the railway station on South Parade, Blackburn. The walks will follow a circular route of 5km using quiet back roads to link walking trails through Blackburn Lake Sanctuary and along the Blackburn Creeklands.
Location: 109 Koonung Rd, Blackburn North View on map
Event Organiser: Blackburn North Neighbourhood House.
Event link: https://www.blackburnnorthnh.org.au/health-and-wellbeing.html
Email: admin@blackburnnorthnh.org.au Phone: 98786632
The Box Hill Community Bakehouse
The Box Hill Community Bakehouse rescues food from a range of bakeries across Whitehorse, Boroondara and Manningham and provides this food (including bread, baked goods, fresh produce and other items) free to the local community with a smile and without question.
The Bakehouse takes place at 3 Ellingworth Pde, Box Hill every Thursday at 1:30-2:30pm and every Saturday at 7:30-8:30am. You can follow the Bakehouse at https://www.facebook.com/boxhillbakehouse
Eastern Area Multiple Birth Association (EAMBA)
EAMBA provides communication, support and services to parents of multiples (twins, triplets, quadruplets, more) within the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. We have 120 member families in the Maroondah, Yarra Ranges, City of Knox, Whitehorse and Manningham areas. Our funding comes from membership fees, donations, fundraising and grants.
Our mission
We aim to bring a sense of belonging, provide practical advice and resources, and give emotional support for those raising multiples. We do this through a Facebook group, member only events, playgroups and more. To find out more about EAMBA, go here: https://eamba.amba.org.au/.
The Inclusion Foundation
A for purpose-charity that champions the inclusion of people with Down syndrome. We see an inclusive world where people with Down syndrome are equal, active and respected members of society. Together, we stand proud, we raise our hands in the air, and we say to society, to business, to governments, to everyone, and to anyone… Count me in!
MUC Knitters
Manningham Uniting Church and Community Centre
109 Wood St, Templestowe
Every Month from 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm
Ladies with a common interest in knitting come together to create warm garments and soft toys for newly arrived refugees and asylum seekers and enjoy afternoon tea together. Everyone is welcome to attend, knitter or not!
Can’t attend, but are a keen knitter? Or have an abundance of wool? Feel free to download the square knitting pattern and knit away from home, and then drop in your squares in at the Manningham Uniting Church & Community Centre to the joined together to make blankets.
If you have any spare wool, you can drop it off at the Manningham Uniting Church and Community Centre, and your wool will be utilised in the creation of warm garments and soft toys.
Contact Helen on 03 9846 2012;
The Nappy Collective
A community based, not for profit run mostly by volunteers collecting and redistributing nappies to families in crisis. Financial donations to The Nappy Collective support the work of diverting all donated nappies to families that need it most and are tax deductible. Go to their website here for more information.
1,200+ scholarships, 20 years of Boroondara impact.
Education CHANCES Foundation, supporting students across Boroondara since 2006
When Education CHANCES Foundation (ECF) awarded its first scholarships in 2006, it was the product of a simple conviction shared by a community group, residents of Boroondara, that talented young people facing financial barriers in this community deserved a chance.
Twenty years later, that conviction has been translated into more than 1,200 scholarships, awarded to students at 11 partner secondary schools across Boroondara. More than $1 million in direct scholarship support has been distributed. An independent evaluation has confirmed that the community return on that investment is between $16 and $19 for every dollar given.
The numbers are significant. But the stories behind them are what endure. Over two decades, ECF has supported students through some of the most formative years of their lives, students who went on to university, excelled, and entered the workforce. Students who, years later, speak of the scholarship not as financial support but as the moment someone believed in them.
“I know what it means to receive an ECF scholarship, because I received one myself. It wasn’t just the money, though that mattered enormously. It was the message that came with it: that this community saw something in me worth investing in. That changes how you see yourself.” Nikko Riazi, Board Chair and former ECF scholarship recipient.
ECF’s longevity is itself a community achievement. The Foundation has been sustained by generations of donors, by the community groups that helped bring it into being, by school wellbeing coordinators who nominate students with care and knowledge, and by a board that has stewarded the mission faithfully across two decades of change.
As ECF approaches its twentieth anniversary, the need it was founded to address remains. Financial barriers in an affluent municipality are less visible than in other communities, but no less real. Each year, approximately 110 students receive scholarships that allow them to participate fully in secondary school life. Each year, the Foundation relies on community generosity to make that possible.
Twenty years is worth celebrating. It is also worth building on. To learn more about ECF’s scholarship programmes, or to make a tax-deductible donation, visit educationchances.org.au or contact us at philanthropy@educationchances.org.au.