December 2020 News

We all hope in a time of crisis that our loved ones will be there to embrace and support us. Sadly some families just don’t have that option. We received a sad but heartwarming note from one of our financial supporters who chose to remain anonymous recently. 

“I know first hand what it is like to be abused, grow up experiencing domestic violence, be poor, no clothes, no food, no home, no car, feeling like I'll never be good enough, feeling like my life will never change. It's the small support I was given by strangers that turned my life around. I've been through a lot myself but I just love helping others. I am living proof that positive change is possible. I want to help others see that they can do whatever they want, and to never give up no matter how hard it might seem”. 

The small support given by strangers is what Eureka Mums is all about. But the remarkable thing about our community is that no one ever feels like a stranger. From our volunteers and staff to our goods and financial donors. And every other person in between that plays a special part in providing safety, opportunity and dignity for children and families in Victoria. 

You’re the reason we kept our doors open most days during the pandemic. 

The overwhelming requests for support kept coming in. But so did your posted goods, your financial donations, your kind words and your genuine care for the babies and children who needed us. Thank you so much for continuing to step in and help when families have nowhere else to turn. 

Although this year has been incredibly challenging, I’ll look back on it as one of the best as Operations Manager of Eureka Mums. And it’s all because of you. 

Please enjoy our last newsletter for 2020. From our Eureka Mums family to yours, wishing you and your loved ones a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. 

Warm regards, 
Trinsa

Key dates to remember

We are now CLOSED for goods donations for 2020. 

We will spend the remainder of the year preparing the items that have been generously donated over the past few weeks into parcels of love. These will be distributed via social workers to families prior to Christmas. 

Our doors are closing on Wednesday 23 December so we can recharge our batteries after a long and bizarre year. We will be returning refreshed and ready to accept goods donations from 13 January, via our booking system

Key dates to remember


The difference you made in 2020

Since the start of the year, your support has enabled us to fill 683 requests for nursery equipment and children’s clothing, with a second-hand value of $456,016 to 1,713 babies and children. 

This includes:

  • 627 clothing bundles 
  • 356 linen bundles 
  • 239 toy bundles
  • 504 nappy bundles 
  • 182 car seats 
  • 108 prams 
  • 93 cots 
  • 59 high chairs

The difference you made in 2020


An update from our board

This month we say thank you and farewell to Stacey Barrass who has served on our board for the last five years. Stacey offered an important point of view for our board from the perspective that many of the families we serve share - that of domestic and financial abuse.  

In the time that Stacey has been a board director she has overseen the expansion in Vale Street and the move to Clayton for our St Kilda Mums team, and the number of babies and children we help each year has grown from 3,000 year to over 20,000 a year.

If you would like to learn more about the special group of volunteers who make up the board and sub-committees across our three branches, please read on.

Farewell Stacey Barrass


A special note of thanks

A special note of thanks


If you're doing okay, please help a family who isn't

That’s the theme of our Christmas appeal, raising the funds we need to help families over the summer months. 

Donations help cover the cost of supporting families at our busiest time of year and mean we can purchase extra nursery equipment as orders for vulnerable families continue to flood in the closer we get to Christmas. 

Please can we ask you to share the appeal and should you or someone you know be in search of Christmas gift ideas, we now have a Christmas gift page, which provides you with a lovely opportunity to make a gift in lieu of a present for a loved one.

If you're doing okay, please help a family who isn't


Tools for Schools

Once again we will be offering families our “Tools for Schools” packs. These packs contain some of the essential items to help ease the financial strain at the start of the year. 

We will be accepting donations of new school items in January to make up these bundles. 

A ‘Tools for School’ bundle provides students with the opportunity to start the school year on an even par with their peers, as much as possible. I once overheard two Prep students say “oh, we have the same lunch box, we must be friends”. The ability for students to connect over an item as simple as a lunch box makes the transition to school a lot easier. 

A ‘Tools for School’ bundle contains the following items, depending on the age of the child. We offer them for Kinder, Primary and High School.  

  • Backpack 
  • Lunch box 
  • Drink bottle 
  • Pencil case 
  • Glue 
  • Ruler
  • Pencil
  • Notebooks 
  • Highlighters 
  • Sharpener
Tools for schools


Stories from our community

In October, a young single mum and her infant fell victim to a house fire. She lost most of their belongings and found herself without the basic items to keep her child safe and protected. 

Eureka Mums was contacted by their child care centre and stepped in to provide them with over $1000 worth of items including a cot and blankets, clothing, toiletries, high chair and toys for her one year old. The young mum was overwhelmed by the support given to her at the time. 

Stories from our community