On Friday 9th January staff members in our Sydney office took some time out of their work day to contribute to the local community through a volunteering day with The Salvation Army's Streetlevel Mission.
On average 790 people sleep rough or in shelters in Sydney every night. Streetlevel Mission is working to support those people most in need through the provision of a cafe, foodmarket, laundry, legal advice programme and emergency assistance.
Staff spent the day at the main centre, helping out with day to day duties including:
- Preparing meals for 80+ people who access the centre over the course of a day. The Cafe is open all day serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.
- Sorting through 400+ items donated to the Op-shop, including toys, books, clothes, shoes and accessories
- Organising and logging grocery items in the mini-mart
When the team weren't chopping vegetables, juicing oranges, barbequing meat or sorting through second-hand clothes they were able to learn about the additional programmes the Salvo's run for the local community including: basketball sessions, arts and crafts workshops, movie afternoons and a women's support group.
We allow all our staff members to take up to 2 days paid leave to volunteer, either independently or through company organised days like this one. The event gave our staff an opportunity to come together outside of their normal day and departments to use their skills and time in lending a helping hand to others in the community.