About Helping Hands
The Helping Hands journey started with a small outreach project focusing on regional Victorian communities in 2007. Over the last 15 years we’ve evolved to become a strong presence across Victoria and particularly Melbourne’s north west, supporting over five hundred families each week through our Emergency and Material Aid Programs and running Op Shops that become central hubs for the community.
Established in 2007, Helping Hands Mission Inc. is a not-for-profit, community-based organisation that provides Emergency Food and Material Aid to Victorian families and individuals in need.
We know that a change in circumstance can have an enormous impact on the day-to-day lives of anyone. Illness, family violence or an unexpected loss of income can place people in a sudden and very challenging situation, and the continued increases to cost of living are adding additional pressure to many families. We work in partnership with a large number of aid and food rescue agencies to ensure the Emergency and Material Aid support we provide is accessible and supports a broad range of community needs.
Food Aid
As part of our commitment to providing accessible Emergency Food Aid, Helping Hands Mission Inc. operates two Community Pantries. Located in Airport West and Sunshine, our Community Pantries allow clients to regularly access a range of fresh fruit and vegetables, frozen produce, pantry staples, and toiletries. We are currently feeding over 3000 local families each week.
Material Aid
In the Material Aid space, we work closely with local partners to ensure we can deliver material aid specific to each client’s needs. For some this might mean the provision of bedding or white goods, but for many families (particularly those experiencing family violence) our support can extend to all furniture, household items, clothing and toys.
Op Shops
Our four Helping Hands Mission Inc. Op Shops sit at the core of our work. They’re more than just retail spaces - they are community hubs offering a chance for social inclusion and access to low-cost items. Our Op Shops also successfully generate the funding necessary to support the sustainable operation of all of our projects; they provide a base for the distribution of Emergency and Material aid; and most importantly, they are where our team of 40 staff and 300+ volunteers come together to be the face of Helping Hands Mission Inc.
What Helping Hands means to the community…
When Helping Hands was established in 2007, we were known as a new and very small charity that ran a mobile op shop program, bringing clothing, shoes, toys and linen to communities across rural Victoria.
Today, the words Helping Hands mean so many different things to different people – to some we are a great op shop where you can hunt for a bargain on a Saturday afternoon – for others we are a place to find the day-to-day essentials when money is tight.
For over 10,000 local families, Helping Hands means food on the table, fresh fruit and veg and some treats for the kid’s lunch boxes.
For so many, Helping Hands means family – a safe space, a place where you will find support, a hot lunch, a cuppa and always a listening ear.
For our amazing team of staff and over 300 volunteers, Helping Hands means work – a place where people can make a difference and be valued for the contribution they make. A place to learn new skills or gain valuable work experience which can be used as a stepping stone to finding new employment; and a place where people can do something they love, knowing that they really are helping to make a difference.
For the food rescue charities we partner with, Helping Hands is the place they can drop off to, knowing that whatever they have will be very gratefully received and redistributed to families in need.
For many in the local community, Helping Hands is the place where you can donate the stuff you no longer need, knowing it will find a new home and help raise money to support local families.
For our donors and customers alike, Helping Hands is a way to effectively reduce their environmental footprint, helping redirect items from landfill and living the values of reduce, reuse, and recycle.