By Pam Kiriakidis
CHARITY organisation Big Group Hug is calling for the community to help find it a new home after receiving notice to vacate its Bundoora warehouse.
The not-for-profit group is searching for a larger space in Melbourne’s northern suburbs, preferably between 800 and 1000 square metres, and including an office with heating and cooling.
Chief executive Bernadene Voss said the organisation had ‘outgrown’ its current premises in Bundoora due to the high demand for aid assistance.
Ms Voss said a new location needed to be volunteer friendly for the organisation to support more families in crisis.
Big Group Hug added about 12 new volunteers after an information evening in September last year.
“We are on the precipice of major growth and to support this, we need a new home,” she said.
“In the last financial year, we supported 4271 children. So far this year we have already seen a 52 per cent increase in requests for help.
“Our service is essential for struggling families and mothers fleeing family violence with their children.”
Big Group Hug is an organisation serving communities across the City of Whittlesea and surrounding suburbs to tackle child poverty, helping vulnerable children who live in crisis by distributing essential items in times of need.
Ms Voss said vacancies in the commercial warehouse sector were limited, currently at a record low of 0.6 per cent, hampering the organisation’s ability to find appropriate accommodation at an affordable rate.
She said she hoped the community would spread the word to find Big Group Hug a new home before September 15.
“We hope there is a person, or a group of people, in the community who can give us a new home or point us in the direction of someone who can,” she said.
“Our preference is the northern suburbs, where our core committed volunteer team is located, but I am open to exploring all opportunities available.
“Big Group Hug will continue. We do have a plan B, but our focus right now is on finding a new, larger home to ensure that every child in our community has the essentials they need to thrive.”
To help Big Group Hug, contact Ms Voss via email at bernadene@biggrouphug.org.
For more information on how to make a donation or to help with volunteering, visit the group’s website biggrouphug.org.
