Over 40 people, one of the largest Club gatherings for some years, attended the first meeting of President Barry’s year, to focus on what Barry described as the city within the city, the homeless and hungry people of Perth.
Our guests included nine donors of sleeping bags, which were made in a village in Cambodia, ending up being handed over to homeless youth in Perth by Anglicare Street Connect. All nine donors came from St Michael’s Anglican Church in Mt Pleasant, and many of them would fit the descriptor that President Barry has coined for potential new members of Applecross Rotary – they have time, talent and treasure to share on worthwhile projects.
Swan Districts Rotarian Kay Eva kicked off the presentations telling us how Stitches of Hope was established some 15 years ago. It focussed on supporting impoverished villagers in Cambodia with better education, housing and sanitation; something Rotary does in so many countries in South East Asia. A quick perusal of the Stitches of Hope website www.stitchesofhope.org.au will answer any general questions.However a few years ago Kay and John Eva added another dimension, turning the villagers’ skills in making clothes into a small business. The main game changer came in 2015 when “Sewing Centre 3” switched to making sleeping bags which are brought to Perth in a sea container, and made available for donation to any number of registered street charities. This is when Kay handed over to Rev. Pamela Turner from St Michael’s and Bev Stott from Street Connect.
Pamela had been brainstorming ideas about what her congregation might do to help others during winter, and a chance remark made by Foodbank caught her attention: Foodbank can provide a healthy meal for 50cents. The miracle of feeding the 5000 is a well-known gospel story: Foodbank was saying they could do it for $2500! That’s eminently doable!
Then along comes the opportunity provided through Stitches of Hope, and it took just two weeks to find 28 sleeping bag donors*, and a fundraising dinner of home cooked donated food to kick start the program in June. This month is designated Souper July, to raise more money.
Bec Stott then took up the story telling us how the sleeping bags have been delivered to homeless kids and outlined all the other services that Street Connect provides through its 20 year old bus driving thought the streets of Perth. The bus even has its own postal address, which enables homeless people to have the address they need to qualify for other services provided by local councils and agencies.
And finally, Greg Hebble, the CEO of Foodbank WA, whetted our appetite for a forthcoming presentation to our Club with a few statistics indicating that there are a lot of people in WA finding it difficult to feed their families this winter and the majority of them have jobs!
* 35 sleeping bags had been donated by the end of June and another three were donated during the meeting today!
 | Rev. Pamela Turner from St Michael's |
 | Bev Stott from Street Connect |
 | Greg Hebble, CEO Foodbank |