By Tyler Wright
The Philanthropic Collective (TPC) has received help bringing support to families and locals in need this Christmas with a generous donation from Food Bank Victoria.
TPC’s Free Food Program has seen volunteers deliver boxes of fresh food and vegetables as well as non-perishables to families, the sick and elderly and others in the community since 2016.
This year, Foodbank Victoria agreed to donated an extra 500kg of vegetables and 300kg of fruit prior to Christmas, which were packed into boxes for community members at Olinda Hall on Wednesday 20 December.
“What’s been really important to us is to recognise that at this time there is a lot of food insecurity, but also a lot of our counterpart agencies closed down over this period,” TPC’s Andrew Fillip-Gautier said.
“We wanted to do something really special as close to Christmas as possible, where we could fill every family with an abundance of fresh fruit and veg.
“Out of the 70 plus boxes today that we’ve put together, with Daniela’s [Monbulk MP Daniela De Martino] entire staff, that translates into about 500 people having Christmas cheer this year.”
Along with the donation from Food Bank Victoria, and volunteers who collected items from the supermarkets on their usual routes, there was also a donation of glassware from Bialetti as well as a donation of fresh Christmas trees from Monbulk’s Coolwyn Nurseries all in the name of community spirit.
Outer East Foodshare team members collected the goods from Food Bank and were able to deliver the produce to TPC at Olinda.
“That’s all gone out to create Christmas cheer for a lot of families that otherwise wouldn’t get there,” Mr Fillip-Gautier said.
Mr Fillip-Gautier said the reaction from people who accessed the donated food boxes has been “overwhelming”.
“People are a bit gobsmacked, and it’s just been a beautiful experience.
“It’s an exchange of love; that’s how we like to look at things.”
Daniela De Martino said the Philanthropic Collective helps families on the “ridgeline” who otherwise can not afford petrol or travel off the mountain to access other emergency food relief services.
“There’s need up here,” Ms De Martino said.
“There’s really dedicated volunteers, good people coming together all the time.
“I’ve been [to the Olinda Hall] quite a few times; there’s always a buzz. It feels good, but it’s doing good as well, and I think there’s probably a few people out there who don’t know it exists.”
Ms De Martino said it is good for those who might be in need to reach out and come forward to ask for help.
“There shouldn’t be any stigma attached to saying ‘hang on, I need a hand,'” she said.
“If people are in a position to help, it would be great if they could either through volunteering or through donations or whatever they can do; that would be fantastic as well.”
Mr Fillip-Gautier said TPC’s philosophy is: ‘if you’re in need, there’s no questions asked’.
“We see a lot of DV (domestic violence) survivors, we see a lot of working families, we see every aspect of community coming together,” he said.
“Everyone has a story to tell; the common thread is that they come together.”
Those in need can visit philanthropic.org.au for more information on the charity’s services.
