Gold Coast charity Support the Girls gifted with $65,000 van
A Gold Coast charity have managed to snag a $65,000 van funded by the state government to deliver bras across Queensland. Here’s why they’re doing it.
Lifestyle
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VOLUNTEERS who help clothe and support vulnerable Gold Coast women are cheering a new van to deliver bras, toiletries and clothing.
Support the Girls does drop-offs to the city homeless or struggling females and now has a new $65,000 State-Government-funded van so they don’t have to use their own vehicles.
Support the Girls CEO Jane Holmes said it would make an enormous difference to their work.
Previously volunteers had been forced to load boxes filled with bras and other items into their own cars, making it near impossible to provide fittings on the road.
“If you can imagine taking around 3000 bras, it’s a lot.
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“We’re going to have access to a lot more vulnerable women and be able to give them dignity and empowerment. We’ll be able to have women actually inside the van to talk to them, counsel them and then fit them with bras,” she said.
At the handover yesterday, an emotional Ms Holmes — who started the service three years ago — said her initial reaction was “tears”.
“This is a dream. To get this now is just a really positive event,” she said.
“One of the biggest memories was a woman who came to an event last year for a makeover,” she said. “She said she wasn’t worthy, we eventually got her a bra and the makeup artist did her face. She looked in the mirror and absolutely broke down.
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“She said she didn’t know she could be a woman. That’s why this is so important.”
The van is part of the Palaszczuk Government’s $2.5 million Dignity First Fund, which Member for Gaven Meaghan Scanlon said was devoted to helping “vulnerable people”.
“It’s incredibly important we’re supporting women in our communities,” she said.
“Particularly women fleeing violent situations, it’s critical we provide them with the basics to have dignity.
“It's just a fantastic organisation, it’s a testament to them how much support they’ve had from the community already.”
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