Big Group Hug is a grassroots community organisation helping Melbourne’s most vulnerable families and children. We support them in supporting families in need.
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Helping Melbourne’s vulnerable children and families
Today, thousands of children and families across Melbourne and regional Victoria face daily hardship. One in six children in Australia lives below the poverty line, leaving many without the essentials needed for a safe and healthy childhood.
At the same time, over 110 tons of usable children’s items end up in landfills each year. Perfectly good clothing, prams, cots, and baby essentials go to waste when they could make a difference in vulnerable families’ lives.
Big Group Hug exists to solve both problems at once. Collecting and distributing new and preloved items (from clothing to baby goods, hygiene products, toys, books, cots, prams and other essentials), they provide children and families facing hardship with the essentials they need to live with dignity and security. Their work supports those affected by family violence, unemployment, homelessness, and financial crisis, offering relief when they need it most.
How we’re helping Big Group Hug
Lakey Family Law actively supports Big Group Hug in a variety of ways as a Dovetail Social Impact Partner. This includes:
- Donating $20 from each initial consult directly to Big Group Hug
- Actively fundraising on Big Group Hug’s behalf
- Volunteering our time
- Collecting donated goods at our Hawthorn office drop-off point.
Where it all began
The seed for Big Group Hug was planted in 2014 when Angela Wood, a teacher and mother, read a pregnant asylum seeker’s story who had no means to provide for her unborn child. Then, she came across a discarded pram on the footpath. The connection was made. She began by giving away her pre-loved items to families in her community. Determined to bridge this gap on a wider scale, she joined forces with business leader Geraldine Camilleri to grow what became Big Group Hug.
For the last decade, Big Group Hug has partnered with welfare agencies, community partners, and 350+ volunteers to rescue and redistribute essential children’s items. Their material aid program ensures that caregivers of newborns to 16-year-olds don’t have to choose between warm clothing, safe bedding, or a hot meal.
In FY2024, Big Group Hug
- Delivered over 120,000 material aid items to 2,404 families and 6,705 babies and children aged up to 16
- Provided monthly support to over 558 Melbourne children through its network of 130+ welfare agencies.
- Saved 144 tonnes of waste from landfill.
How you can help
You can help Big Group Hug support children and families in need by donating money or essential baby and children’s items.
Click here to see what material donations are accepted and needed most. Lakey Family Law has a collection point at our Hawthorn office, or you can deliver goods directly to Big Group Hug in Thomastown, Airport West or Tarneit.
