Half a dozen Mirvac Retail shopping centres in Sydney have launched an appeal for the community to support donations in a charity food drive to help people hit by hardship during the pandemic.
In partnership with major charity provider Anglicare, the retail centres in Sydney’s north, south, west and east will provide collection points for donations of non-perishable food items that will be distributed by the charity to people struggling with bills and day to day essentials.
The assistance is immediate, practical, and will support people doing it tough during the COVID-19 pandemic. Assistance is delivered through Anglicare’s mobile community pantry program, food boxes, and via dedicated shops across Sydney and the Illawarra region.
Each centre is using its retail location as well as its online connection to the local community to promote the donation drop off. The public are encouraged to consider donating simple, non-perishable, and useful items like pasta, rice, tea and coffee, school lunch spreads and snacks, and tinned goods.
Collections are running until 6 September 2020 at Birkenhead Point, Greenwood Plaza and Stanhope Village and were running at Cherrybrook Village, East Village and South Village until 23 August 2020. Volunteers at the collection points are from the local Anglican church, except Greenwood Plaza where they are from Anglicare directly.
Mirvac Retail director of experience, Nicole Imberger said, “As a connected network of centres with strong bonds to our communities, we are extremely well placed to activate this drive to immediately assist those in our community who are struggling the most.”
Anglicare chief operating officer of community services, Bill Farrand added: “We are thrilled at the generosity of Mirvac to allow volunteers into their shopping villages to collect food for our community’s vulnerable, particularly during this difficult time. We hope Anglicare and Mirvac can build a strong community and encourage shoppers to give.”
Anglicare provides a wide range of support across NSW including aged care, food and financial assistance, housing services, counselling and mental health services, migrant services, chaplaincy, and family services.