Alumnae Volunteers

We are very proud of all the volunteer work our many alumnae are engaged in especially at this time. Please email Melinda Adams if you would like to bring awareness to a charity you are involved with.

This month we reached out to Rosemary Kelly to share her story about the wonderful work she does with FareShare.   

Rosemary Kelly (1976)

FareShare rescues surplus food to cook into thousands of nutritious meals for people doing it tough.  

Volunteers are the heart of FareShare and have been so for almost 20 years. I have managed FareShare’s volunteer program for over 10 years. We are generously supported by a large community of over 1000 volunteers here in Melbourne. 

Working with volunteers creates an energetic and positive environment that is fun, rewarding and sometimes surprising. 

2020 was always going to be a challenging year with the latest data estimating that five million Australians, one in five a child, experienced food insecurity.  

Then came bushfires - vivid images and shocking stories of whole communities struggling with the terrible impact. 

Then unbelievably COVID-19 overtook our world and changed our lives as we knew them. 

At the end of March, we had to suspend our volunteering program. Despite this being necessary to ensure their safety, it was a sad and difficult decision. 

Like many organisations, we “pivoted” and with the support of the Victorian Government and Woolworths, we have employed chefs and hospitality staff who had lost their jobs due to the crisis. They have continued to power our Abbotsford kitchen and harnessing their expertise we have increased our meal production at a time when there has never been higher demand.

As you can imagine, the pandemic has had a dramatic impact on people doing it tough. We have been inundated with requests from charities and community groups in desperate need of nutritious meals.

Therefore, our absolute priority is to keep our ovens turned on and our kitchens operating, keep our staff safe and support the increasing number of vulnerable people who depend on our meals.

We remain optimistic that as a community we can work together, and there is light at the end of this tunnel. We plan to transition back to a volunteer model as soon as it is safe to do so but we cannot predict when that will be. 

If you are wondering how you can support FareShare, financial support is now more valuable than ever – every donation we receive means more meals for people in crisis. 

Click on the link below to find out more about FareShare including how to make a tax-deductible donation to support FareShare’s work.