So much more than a donation
Donations
Ways to give / Why we can’t always take everything
Why your donation matters
Helping Hands is a local not-for-profit organisation supporting families across Melbourne’s north-west. Through the generosity of people like you, we operate three Op Shops that help fund our Emergency Food Relief and Material Aid programs.
We don’t receive government funding—our lifeline is the support of the community. Your donation helps provide food, furniture, and essentials to local families facing hardship. Whether you give goods, groceries or money, you're offering hope and dignity to someone who needs it.
Ways to give
Donating goods & furniture
Our op shops rely on generous donations of quality household goods and furniture to help fund our Emergency Aid programs and support people in our community.
If you’d like to donate, our stores welcome items that are clean and in good condition. Click Learn more to see what we can accept, donation drop-off hours, and other helpful information.
Pantry & personal care donations
Our Airport West and Sunshine Community Pantries support more than 700 families every week. You can make a direct difference by donating pantry staples to help keep our shelves stocked and ensure families receive the food and essentials they need.
If you’re a business interested in donating products or surplus stock, fill out and send this form to us.
Run a food or clothing drive
Bring your school, workplace, or community group together and help make a real difference.
Whether you’re planning a one-off donation drive or a longer-term initiative, we’ll support you with everything you need to get started. Get in touch with us and we can provide portable wheelie bins, steel donation bins, or our iconic blue donation bags to make your campaign simple and effective.
Make a financial donation
Your financial support directly funds our Emergency Food Relief and Material Aid programs, helping individuals and families access support through our Community Pantry and Material Aid services. All donations over $2 are tax deductible.
Prefer to donate via bank transfer, card payment, or over the phone? Simply complete the contact form below and our team will be in touch to assist you.
Why we can’t always take everything — and how that helps families in need
We’re incredibly grateful for your generosity. Every donation helps us keep quality items out of landfill and raises vital funds through our op shops. The proceeds from these op shops go directly to our community pantries, providing food to around 150 families each day. By ensuring we stock quality goods in our op shops, these items are more likely to sell, which means more funds to support families facing hardships.
While we’d love to accept everything, we sometimes can’t. This may be because:
It isn’t in a condition that we can pass on – we can only sell items that are safe, clean, and ready for a new owner to enjoy.
Our stock of this item is currently full – sometimes our shelves are full, and we need to pause accepting certain things until there’s room again.
It’s not something we can sell – from our 18 years of experience, we’ve learned that some items just don’t sell in our op shops, and keeping them takes up valuable space.
With limited space in our op shops and warehouses, we need to make sure every donation has the best chance of finding a new home. Thank you for understanding—and for helping us make every donation count!
