MICK GENTLEMAN ROLLS UP HIS SLEEVES AT THE LANYON FOOD HUB

11 November 2014

ACT Minister for Community Services Mick Gentleman will be putting his back into emergency food relief in Canberra, unloading boxes of food stuffs and stacking shelves at YWCA Canberra’s Food Hub, on Wednesday 12 November.

Participating in the 25 Days of Volunteering campaign, Mr Gentleman has been invited to YWCA Canberra’s Mura Lanyon Youth & Community Centre to work alongside Food Hub volunteers for a day.

Some of his duties will include emptying pallets of food stuffs from a truck and unpacking food to stock the Food Hub shelves.

The Food Hub is an emergency food relief service, providing free, nutritious food to families in need in the Tuggeranong region.

Designed like a small supermarket, it offers non-perishable food as well as some meat, bread and dairy items.

The Food Hub has recently been complimented by a community garden, where clients are encouraged to grow seasonal herbs and vegetables, and pick produce for their own use.

YWCA Canberra Executive Director Frances Crimmins said she was pleased Mr Gentleman would be spending a day at the Food Hub.

“Volunteering for the Food Hub is a great way to learn about the provision of emergency food relief in Canberra, as well as meet our wonderful volunteers.

“Mr Gentleman will come away with first-hand knowledge of just how much energy and enthusiasm goes into providing these frontline services.”

The volunteer team at the Food Hub are a dedicated group who won 2013 ACT Volunteering Team of the Year.

As well as ordering food, the team stocks the shelves, keeps the space clean and tidy, and looks after clients who access the service.

They are also trained to refer clients to staff members for other services, as appropriate.

During the winter months, the volunteer team provide lunch on Food Hub days, known as the Lanyon Ladle.

25 Days of Volunteering is an initiative of Volunteering ACT, to highlight the changing nature of volunteering, demonstrate the diversity of volunteering opportunities, and raise the profile of volunteering in our community.

Twenty-five eminent Canberrans have been asked to support the campaign by volunteering for one day with a Volunteering ACT member organisation.

You can follow Mr Gentleman’s experiences on Twitter using #more2volunteering.

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Where:  Mura Lanyon Youth & Community Centre, Sidney Nolan Street, Conder
When: Wednesday 12 November, 10am – 1pm
What: Emptying pallets of food, unwrapping and unstacking pallets, unpacking food onto shelves. The role will include a WHS induction.
Why: 25 Days of Volunteering, by Volunteering ACT

Frances Crimmins is available for interview.

Media contact: Karan Gabriel 0490 487 956 or karan.gabriel@ywca-canberra.org.au

Full media release for Mick Gentleman rolls up his sleeves at the Lanyon Food Hub.

About YWCA Canberra: YWCA Canberra is a feminist, not-for-profit community organisation that has been providing community services and representing women’s issues in the Canberra community since its establishment in 1929. YWCA Canberra employs more than 350 staff across the ACT, and delivers 30 quality programs in children’s services, community development, housing, youth services, women’s leadership, advocacy, and training. Represented in 122 countries, the YWCA has a global reach of 25 million women and girls. As part of this international movement, YWCA Canberra works for a world where reconciliation, justice, peace, health, human dignity, freedom and care for the environment are promoted and sustained through women’s leadership. For more information visit: www.ywca-canberra.org.au