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Ben & Jerry’s Volunteers Transform Properties!

Ben and Jerry's Community Volunteer Day

At Burdekin, we believe in the power of community and the impact of collective effort. Recently, we experienced a great example of this when the amazing team of 60 Ben & Jerry’s volunteers from all across Australia and New Zealand joined us for their Community Volunteer Day. Their hard work and dedication made a significant difference in the lives of the young people we support. We couldn’t be more grateful.

Transforming homes, one brushstroke at a time

In the Inner West, the Ben & Jerry’s volunteers rolled up their sleeves and got to work on one of our properties, making it feel like a true home for the two young people in our care. From assembling furniture, painting walls, relaying pavers and sprucing the garden, their efforts have transformed the space, creating a warm and welcoming environment.

Bringing New Life to Our Gardens

On the Northern Beaches, the Ben & Jerry’s crew tackled the overgrown garden with enthusiasm and energy. They weeded, planted mature trees, laid down mulch in the garden beds, created a herb garden, sanded and painted outdoor garden furniture and assembled a lovely outdoor garden setting. Thanks to their hard work, the outdoor space now looks inviting and beautiful – a perfect place for the young residents to relax and feel at home.

Supporting Young People on their Journey to Adulthood

Both of these properties are currently home to young people aged 16 and 17 who are in the process of leaving supported care and transitioning into independent living and adulthood. These young individuals aren’t completely ready to be independent, and having a supportive, nurturing environment is crucial. The efforts of Ben & Jerry’s staff and volunteers have enhanced these spaces, making them better places for these young people to continue receiving the support they need.

Celebrating a Meaningful Partnership

Burdekin is immensely grateful for the partnership we have with Ben & Jerry’s. Their volunteer work has improved our properties and shown the young people in our care that they are valued and supported by their community.

Together, we can continue to empower young lives and build a brighter future for everyone.

To read more about volunteering opportunities with Burdekin, click here.

Host a BBQ Block Party for Burdekin

We love nothing better than a good Aussie barbecue and the timeless sausage sanga! Unless, of course, you are vegetarian or vegan, in which case you’ll enjoy vegan sausages.

Why not make it a block party and invite the whole neighbourhood, make it a celebration of food, culture and community? Even bring your own twist to the classic snag and celebrate diversity and culinary traditions in your community!

A block party BBQ is great way to bring people together, while raising money and awareness for a cause that is close to your heart – such as youth homelessness.

Planning your BBQ

Planning a community Block party BBQ takes a little planning, but not much! Consider hosting your event at a particular time of year:

  • Your very own birthday fundraiser
  • A summer BBQ
  • A public holiday BBQ
  • Grand Final Day
  • Harmony Day
  • Youth Homelessness Matters Day
  • Welcoming new neighbours to the area
  • Another day of significance for you
  • A Bunnings Sausage Sizzle – a 25 year institution! Bunnings in the community.

Where should you host your BBQ?

  • Park, beach, street – public spaces, just check with your local council to see if you need a permit!
  • Your local farmers market, school fete or sports club event.

Spread the word

You might have access to a WhatsApp group for people in your community – let them know about your event! Spread the word via friends, family, neighbours and ask any groups that you are involved with – school, a sports club, a community club, RSL and your employer to share your fundraiser – they might even support the event in some way.

Share the event on your socials, ask your local radio and/or paper for a free advertisement slot. If you use social media, please tag us so we are aware of your posts and can share them if appropriate.

Woolies and Coles grants

Your local Woolworths and Coles stores offer community grants and the money could help you to buy everything you need for your BBQ! Coles Community Support Applications and Woolworths Community Contributions could be of help.

Go extra

If you love organising these sorts of events, you might like to contact any businesses in your area to help and people generally do like to help if they know that it’s for a good cause, especially if they can get a shout out for it too! You could organise a raffle at the BBQ too.

Employer involvement

Don’t be afraid to ask your employer to assist – most organisations today do want to be involved in corporate fundraising for a number of reasons:

  • Good publicity
  • Morale boosting
  • Social responsibility

Corporate fundraising is a great way for organisations to show that they are committed to the community and to causes that matter – some employers will eagerly back you and some will even seek to get involved themselves and pay for volunteer days. Ask your employer about payroll giving and dollar matching!

Further information and ideas

Wills, bequests and legacies

This month we want to talk about wills, gifts and legacies. The end of the financial year is a time when many of us tidy up our financial affairs for the tax man. It is a good time to prepare a will and be prepared for whatever the future may hold.

Admittedly, writing a will is not a fun topic and whilst there is no legal requirement to have one, having a will in place, could save you and your loved ones a lot of problems down the line. An added benefit? You can leave a gift in your will, creating a legacy long after you’re gone.

The Burdekin Association signed up with Gathered Here, an online will-writing service here in Australia (there are others internationally) who provide legally binding, free online will-writing services with unlimited updates for life.

About online wills

Although they have been around for many years prior, the use of online will-writing services accelerated during the pandemic, in part due to the restrictions of lockdowns, coupled with the consideration of our own mortality. Now post-pandemic online services such as will-writing continue to go from strength to strength.

Who should have a will?

Everyone – young, old and couples with children (especially). Once you’re over 18 you’re eligible, however many people put off writing a will until they feel they have to, or not at all. Major life events such as the purchase of a house, the birth of a child, an inheritance and sadly an illness diagnosis also prompt the writing of a will.

Write your will for free

Interesting facts:

  • In 2018, a study by ‘Which? Legal’ found that the average age of individuals writing a traditional will was 47.
  • In 2022, almost a fifth of will-writers on Gathered Here were over the age of 65.
  • In 2022, an estimated $224 million was pledged in online wills written via Gathered Here.
  • Residual gifts are by far the most common type of gift pledged in online wills, accounting for 78 per cent of all gifts pledged on Gathered Here.

Leaving a gift in your will

There is a misconception that leaving a gift in your will is only for wealthy people with lots of assets. In fact, without the gifts left in wills from ordinary people, many charities wouldn’t be able to sustain themselves at the level they do.

Types of gifts in wills

  • A residual gift – the amount left over after everything else is taken care of.
  • A pecuniary legacy – a specified monetary gift.
  • Specified legacy – particular items of worth.

Benefits to you

  • Gathered Here is FREE.
  • Unlimited updates for life.
  • No obligation to leave a gift – the will-writing service is still free.
Write your will for free

What leaving a gift in your will means to Burdekin and young people

Whether you are a new or long time supporter of The Burdekin Association, leaving a gift in your will is perhaps the biggest expression of your support of our work. Leaving a gift in your will allows us to plan for the future more effectively – creating a legacy, long past your lifetime.

Creative Collaborations!

The Burdekin Association is thrilled to announce that a former employee, Jay Williams, has established a new skincare company – ACTIVEAUSSIE Skincare – and he has committed to donating 15 per cent of the company’s profits to The Burdekin Association for one year.

The Burdekin Association’s CEO, Justene Gordon was joined by young people – Alice and Ava – and Case Managers – Chris and Howie. They were filmed while talking with first-hand experience of how The Burdekin Association provides housing, support and community intervention services for children and young people – helping to solve issues of child and youth homelessness.

ACTIVEAUSSIE Skincare products are proudly made in Sydney by reputable partners in the health and beauty field and feature antioxidants, including Kakadu plum extract, lilly pilly fruit extract, bilberry fruit extract, lavender oil, Resveratrol, and Tocopheryl Acetate (a form of Vitamin E).

The funds raised through the sale of ACTIVEAUSSIE Skincare products will be used to provide case management services to children in our Out of Home Care. The funds will help them to learn independent living skills, complete their studies, live independently, and go on to gain employment.

We hope through ACTIVEAUSSIE Skincare’s advertising campaign, that more people will discover what we do, volunteer with us, become a foster carer of a young person, and donate. 

Justene Gordon, CEO of The Burdekin Association

ACTIVEAUSSIE Skincare’s endeavours will help The Burdekin Association by raising our profile, making people aware of how we’re aiming to ensure that every child or young person has a safe home. 

“The main purpose of the ACTIVEAUSSIE Skincare brand is about fundraising and supporting organisations who are helping our young disadvantaged kids. That’s what really makes us, us.”

Jay Williams, Founder of ACTIVEAUSSIE Skincare

You can visit the ACTIVEAUSSIE Skincare website to place an order and support a great cause (The Burdekin Association!) 💙💛

What a difference volunteers make!

Qualtrics volunteers assist to transform a property for a young person.

A huge thank you to the amazing team of volunteers at Qualtrics for helping us transform a single storey, two-bedroom property for a 19-year-old single mother with two children under the age of two.

Six employees from Qualtrics, which helps organisations improve their customer and employee experience, put up their hands to transform the property as part of their annual volunteering inititiative, XM Day.

Armed with gardening tools and a positive attitude, they participated in a volunteering day, where they assisted in:

  • Painting the living room
  • Moving a new couch into the newly painted living room
  • Pruning and tidying up the garden
  • Patching up a couple of dents in the walls
  • Revamping the kitchen
  • Tidying up the garage and car port
  • Taking rubbish to Kimbriki Resource Recovery Centre
  • Scrubbing the bathroom to remove mould
  • Removing plastic bottles and recycling them

The generous team also donated two car seats for the children, children’s clothes, toys, new towels, new cushions and a rug, and stationery to help the young mother with their TAFE studies.

Doctor Cecila Herbert from Qualtrics also went the extra mile and donated plants from her own garden and planted them in the property’s garden.

Thank you Qualtrics, your team of volunteers have truly made a difference in this young mother’s life and we couldn’t be more grateful! This is why we do what we do!

And finally, a big shout out of thanks to Bunnings Warringah Mall for donating paint, that provided the living room with a new lease on life.

If your organisation or business would like to volunteer with The Burdekin Association, check out our volunteering opportunities here. We’d love to hear from you.

We acknowledge the Aboriginal people of the Cadigal and Gayamaygal Clans. We acknowledge the Country on which we live, work, and gather as being Aboriginal land.

We acknowledge the lands, waterways and skies that are connected to Aboriginal people. We honour them and pay our deepest respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.

We respect their rightful place within our communities, and we value their ancient cultural knowledge and practices.

Aboriginal Flag
Torres Straight Island Flag

We deeply respect that this will always be Aboriginal land and we will honour and follow the first peoples’ values in caring for the Country and for preserving their culture.

We deeply value that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are the oldest living culture in the world and we will continue to work with their peoples and communities to ensure their cultures endure and remain strong.