Every week we receive bags and boxes full of generous donations for our community. Everything from clothing, shoes, cots, basinets and toys to photo albums and frames, costumes and fishing gear and picnic packs.
By donating their pre-loved items, our amazing community are helping vulnerable families with essential material aid, recycling and making a small step towards a more sustainable world.
But sometimes we receive things we can’t rehome. In the past we have given these items to local op shops and other charities, but late in 2022 we thought to ourselves, we can do more.
Big Group Hug is driven by the memory of that feeling of a hug when you were a child. The warmth. The safety. The spontaneous smile that surfaced mid-hug. That’s what drives us! We want every child who lives in poverty to feel the warmth of our collective hug.
Our online shop goes one step further. We’ve gone Beyond the Hug.
We developed our very own online op-shop where we are selling selected items that have been donated, but can’t be rehomed. This could be due to the strict regulations and standards that we need to follow, maybe an item is just too big, or it may not be appropriate for material aid. Sometimes we may also receive items that have been specifically donated with permission and intent to sell online. And sometimes it may be that we just have too much of something (super rare) and don’t have the space to store it.
All profits will be used to purchase new items needed, such as infant formula, toiletries, and baby hardware for families and children in need.
When you buy from our online shop, you’re not only extending the life of these goods but you’re also helping us continue to do the life-changing work we do.
Items purchased from Beyond the Hug will only be available for click and collect, initially from our Airport West location, with the plan being to extend this to our Bundoora Warehouse in the near future – watch this space!
