Tara Murray
A local charity group is putting out a call for donated items having seen an 11 per cent increase in people needing help.
Big Group Hug, which has three warehouses including in Tarneit and Thomastown, helped 6705 families in the past 12 months.
On average they help more than 550 children a month.
Fundraising and communications manager Maria Quigley said the main reason they were seeing people as they were going through financial hardship.
She said underemployment and unemployment, family violence, refugees and single parents were the other main groups of people they see.
“Two-thirds of people only need help once,” she said. “Their car might have blown up or they have an unexpected financial trigger which means they need help.
“They are then diverting funds off essentials.”
Ms Quigley said toiletries for both babies, children and adults were things they were constantly seeking donations of.
“Shampoo, conditioner and roll on deodorant are the real main things for adults,” she said.
“We need sanitary items, especially tampons.
“For children, it’s things like baby wash three in one, toothbrushes and toothpaste.
“Nappy cream is a big one, we never have enough of that. We’re often preparing nappy bags with no cream in them.
“We’re hearing anecdotal evidence of parents trying to ration nappy cream which can cause more health issues.”
Ms Quigley said other things they were looking for were items for babies such as prams and capsules.
She said bedding was another big one.
“Blankets and bed linen for cots and bassinets,” she said. “Single size sheets and blankets.
“Lots of families are in cold houses with inadequate bedding or just have one set and it can’t be washed as it doesn’t dry.”
People looking to donate can donate items to any of the three warehouses, while there are volunteers who accept items outside of hours.
Money can also be donated to help buy items,
Ms Quigley said they were always in need of volunteers across the three locations, especially Tarneit.
Details: biggrouphug.org/
