Backpacks 4 SA Kids founder Rachael Zaltron nominated for Pride of Australia award for her charity for homeless youth
WITH just a backpack filled with essential items, Rachael Zaltron has transformed the lives of thousands of children heading into foster care.
WITH just a backpack filled with essential items, Rachael Zaltron has transformed the lives of thousands of children heading into foster care.
And now, the Para Hills mother has been nominated for a Pride of Australia award.
“I’m extremely honoured to be nominated, it’s always an amazing feeling when someone actually acknowledges the people behind the scenes,” she said.
Her charity, Backpacks 4 SA Kids, will provide 1000 support backpacks — filled with a sleeping bag, toiletries and a mobile phone — to homeless youth.
She sees this as a way of reducing “the pressure of living on the street”.
“Domestic violence families are setting up their own home and we found they didn’t have the basics, like sheets on the bed and no plates to eat off,” Ms Zaltron said.
“We’ve handed out 17 backpacks to families who were victims of domestic violence and none of them have gone back to their original homes. We didn’t ever think it would be a big charity as it is,” she said.