Background
- Charity name: Rosies
- Charity location: Queensland, Australia
- Charity partner since: 2015
Why We Support This Charity
Rosies volunteers with donated custom BioCups
About the Charity
Rosies provides unconditional acceptance and friendship to people who are marginalised within our community – especially those who are homeless, at risk of homelessness or simply lonely. They are a volunteer-based not-for-profit organisation that commenced in Queensland in 1987 as a youth mission. Today, they continue to engage youth, and the community, through education, awareness, and volunteer programs.
About Their Cause
Tonight, 20,000 Queenslanders are homeless. Almost half are women. Over 40% are aged 25 or under, of which 3,500 are kids 12 and under.
Most people are not homeless by choice. It is their only option. Often they are hidden. Young people experiencing homelessness are also more likely to experience higher unemployment than the rest of the population, have worse health outcomes, and little to no income. Once started homelessness can become a cycle, especially when so young. Education and awareness play a vital role in prevention and support, which is also a core aim of Rosies.
Our Call to Action
One person having a cuppa can make a difference to homelessness.
Back in 2015, a volunteer named Jacqui Green, took up a call to action for donations for Rosies. She decided to spend an hour a day for one week, blindfolded, on Surfers Paradise beach offering 'free hugs' to people in return for donations. She even reached out to BioPak to provide for the outreaches. We were so moved by Jacqui's heart warming efforts and enthusiasm that we ended up contacting Rosies directly. As a result, BioPak donates to Rosies the 100,000 cups that they need each year for their program.
Pictured from left to right: Andrew O’Brien (General Manager, Rosies), Jacqui Green (volunteer and connector), Wendy Coe (Gold Coast Branch Coordinator, Rosies)
Rosies’s General Manager, Andrew O'Brien said that Rosies simply aims to acknowledge human dignity and inspire an increased self-reliance.
'It's amazing what a simple cuppa, bite to eat, and a chat with our volunteers can do for our many friends', Mr O'Brien said.
'Over 95% of our work is funded through kind donations from our local community, and wonderful people like Jacqui, and we cannot thank her and BioPak enough,' he said.
For us, at BioPak it was an obvious choice to partner with Rosies after Jacqui's wonderful introduction. Our aim is to raise awareness about the environmental impacts of everyday consumer choices and to offer solutions that enable our customers, employees, and the wider community to choose more sustainable alternatives.
We are very proud to support many initiatives throughout the community who share this vision.
