The team from Grill’d Noosa have helped combat the concerning issues of homelessness with a National Takeover of their Local Matters fundraising program during June.
During the past month, Grill‘d’s Local Matters program was dedicated to supporting organisations who help Australians facing homelessness, with guests allocating their Local Matters token to vote for their chosen charity.
Grill’d will donate $75,000 across key charity partners, the Australian Red Cross, St Vincent de Paul Society and The Salvation Army.
The Salvation Army head of public relations Major Bruce Hammer said, “Every 17 seconds, The Salvation Army in Australia helps someone at one of our services or programs.”
Extreme financial stress brought on by the pandemic made the risk of intimate partner violence three times higher, while changed working conditions led to women being twice as likely to experience domestic abuse.
Women living with violence are often caught between two heartbreaking choices: stay and suffer abuse – or leave and face homelessness.
In the 2020/21 financial year, The Salvation Army provided 887,500 crisis beds to people experiencing homelessness.
“Funds raised from the Grill’d Local Matters campaign will help us to continue to bring hope to people who are vulnerable and in crisis,” Mr Hammer said.
“We can be there for the long haul, as we journey with them through their toughest days and into a brighter future.”
Grill’d founder and managing director Simon Crowe said, “We usually take what we’ve got for granted.”
“Most of us have a warm place to sleep, regular meals, and a roof over our heads. But for some, this isn’t the case.”
Every day, hundreds of Australians facing homelessness approach charitable organisations for support.
Within Australia, there are around 116,000 Australians experiencing homelessness.
“That’s why in June, we’re giving back in a big way and taking our Local Matters program national,” Mr Crowe said.
“In addition to this initiative, we’ve recently launched a national program supporting those doing it tough in our cities, where every month we close five restaurants for an evening to give back to those who need it most.
“We launched Local Matters in 2011 to give back to our local communities, because they matter to us. Since then we’re proud to say we’ve raised over $1 million per year and over $6 million since its inception, supporting over 30,000 community groups, organisations and projects.”
