Celebrating You - The Heart of Helping Hands
This Volunteer Week, we want to take a moment to celebrate you—our incredible volunteers—and shine a spotlight on the powerful theme of this week: Connecting Communities.
Connecting Communities—that’s exactly what you do. Every day. Through every food hamper packed, every kind word spoken, every donation collected, every hour spent helping others. You connect people. You connect kindness. You connect hope.
At Helping Hands, we are privileged to have over 300 dedicated volunteers, each one bringing something unique and valuable to the table. Whether you're sorting clothes, cooking meals in the dining room, collecting donations, driving our vans, packing food aid hampers, working at our front counter, or selling furniture in our store—you are what makes Helping Hands what it is.
Your hard work, your time, your compassion—it does not go unnoticed.
The Impact of Your Giving
As we near the end of the 2024–2025 financial year, we reflect on the massive impact your efforts have already made. Looking back at the 2023–2024 year:
We distributed an incredible 809,153 kilograms of food to individuals and families who were struggling to put food on the table.
We served over 20,000 hot meals in our welcoming community dining room.
We fed over 3,000 people each week with vital food aid and support.
Because of you, we continue to reduce landfill waste by giving preloved goods a second chance at life, helping our environment while helping those in need. Because of you, people have a warm, respectful place where they can ask for help without judgment. Because of you, those suffering from social isolation find community, compassion, and connection.
Your Work Matters—And It’s Noticed
Sometimes, in the busy day-to-day, it’s easy to wonder if what you’re doing is really making a difference. So, we wanted to share a few heartfelt words from our community—people whose lives have been touched by your compassion:
"Amazing volunteers that work so hard to help the community in every way they can. So friendly, helpful and dedicated to help make a difference in people’s lives. Thank you so much."
"What a beautiful group of wonderful volunteers."
"I want to thank each and every one of you. You may not know the difference that you make in your individual roles, but together you are making a huge difference."
Together, We Are Building Something Meaningful
Helping Hands is more than a charity. It’s a living, breathing community—and it thrives because of you. Your generosity, time, and energy create a ripple effect of goodness that stretches far beyond the walls of our building.
Whether you give a few hours a week or many, whether you work behind the scenes or in front of our customers, your contributions matter.
This week is about more than recognition—it’s about honouring the power of connection. And at the very heart of those connections is you.
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you. Thank you for showing up, for caring, and for making a real difference—not just in the tasks you do, but in the lives you touch.
We couldn’t do this without you.
With heartfelt gratitude,
The Helping Hands Team
