VU Whitten Oval welcomed over 70 asylum seeker families through its doors on Saturday afternoon, as part of a volunteer-run initiative supported by the Western Bulldogs Community Foundation.
Hosting 30 volunteers from West Welcome Wagon, asylum seeker families were able to pick and choose from a range of items sourced from various donors across the state.
From men’s and women’s clothing to toys and manchester, the Sunshine-based not-for-profit is dedicated to providing support to asylum seekers in Melbourne’s west.
Today we hosted @WestWagon to hand out clothes, shoes, linen and more to asylum seeker families living across the #mightywest. On the eve of #nationalvolunteerweek2021 it is inspiring to see people giving up their time to help those less fortunate! pic.twitter.com/bRSxhvUIsN
— Bulldogs Foundation (@WBFCFoundation) May 15, 2021
“As a Club we are proud to support initiatives like this, as we are extremely passionate about giving back to the community and helping those that need it most,” Community Foundation Diversity and Youth Manager, Simon Rodder, said.
“The west of Melbourne has the greatest concentration of people seeking asylum in Victoria, and are some of the most disadvantaged people in our communities facing barriers to employment, education and community services that are essential to livelihood.”
Since being established in 2013, West Welcome Wagon currently has over 200 volunteers servicing the western local government areas of Melbourne.
May 17–May 23 is National Volunteer Week. If you are interested in volunteering with West Welcome Wagon, please click here.
