Have you visited our Community Kitchen at our Airport West op shop yet? You'll be fed a delicious lunch prepared by our kitchen volunteers and Work for the Dole participants, all for just $5 a plate. The menu changes daily and may feature salads, soup, quiche, sandwiches, casseroles, slices, bakes, stir fries and much more! Most meals we serve are made from quality donated food rescued from commercial outlets, through our partnerships with OzHarvest, Fareshare, Foodbank and Second Bite.

This program teaches our WFD crew valuable hospitality and customer service skills and improves their employability. It also works to combat social isolation, giving everyone in the community a safe and welcoming place to spend some time socialising over a hearty meal and a cuppa.

A generous morning tea and afternoon tea is served each day for a $2 donation, and lunch is served 5 days a week at 12pm at 14 McIntosh St, Airport West.

Do you know someone who would like to volunteer but their lack of experience, mobility or their age has stopped them from having a go?

Volunteers are absolutely critical to the success of Helping Hands and we are committed to ensuring that everyone has a chance to be involved. That’s why we run our Assisted Volunteers Program – an initiative that provides all members of the community with an opportunity to come along, lend a hand, enjoy a cuppa and make a valuable contribution. Volunteers come in all shapes and sizes and have different skills to share, and this program recognises that some may require a bit of assistance on their volunteering journey.

If you, or someone you know, would benefit from the Assisted Volunteers Program, please get in touch via our contact form below or drop into 14 McIntosh St, Airport West for more information.

Like our own story, the story of our Egg Program started with a simple goal – help a small business.

These massive double-yolkers weren’t suitable for supermarkets because, well, they’re massive double-yolkers! Rather than see them go to waste, Egg Man (aka Darren) got in touch and asked if Helping Hands Mission could sell his eggs.

This allowed us to provide a staple fresh food item at the affordable price of just $6 per dozen. Within a matter of months, the demand for our fresh, hand-picked and hand-packed eggs grew, and we expanded from selling just through the Fullarton Road Op Shop to the Sunshine, Roxburgh Park and Preston stores. Now, Egg Man transports 500 dozen eggs each week – that’s 3 truckloads!

Our Assisted Volunteers unpack and re-pack the eggs every week, with Dayne (the in-house Egg Man, pictured) overseeing the process. Dayne guides a small team of volunteers to carefully pack these eggs into single-dozen take-home packs.

Helping Hands is a major host of Work for the Dole programs across Melbourne’s North West. Our participants are valued members of our team and contribute to the daily running of the charity, and in turn the work they complete with us gives them experience, confidence, new skills and helps them get job ready.

We are passionate about combatting local unemployment and we take our commitment to our jobseekers seriously. We’ve successfully placed dozens of Work for the Dole participants in paid employment through our Employment Partners Program – a program that focuses on developing strong relationships with local businesses as well as large corporations so that they contact us first when beginning the recruitment process.

At the core of what we do is a dedication to providing choice and dignity to our clients.

Our Christmas Cupboard programs provide gifts for families who are facing financial hardship, allowing parents to give their children a ‘‘normal’’ festive season.

All the gifts are brand new in box and there is a range to choose from for boys and girls from babies up to 12 years.

Clients can express their interest in this program when the call outs for registrations are announced.

Our Op Shop Bus Tours have been a highlight on the calendar for regional Victoria for many years now. Departing from towns such as Lockington and Kyneton, we bring a coach full of op shop lovers to Melbourne for the day where they tour our stores, shop up a storm and enjoy a delicious lunch at the local RSL.

If you are interested in running a tour for your school or community group - whether you’re based in Melbourne or in regional Victoria - please get in touch via our contact form.