Violet

20/05/2026

There are conversations most of us are quietly meaning to have with the people we love. About how they want to live the time still ahead, about what matters most to them, about what they'd want us to know. Most of us keep putting them off. Not because we don't care, but because we don't quite know where to start.
So on Tuesday 2 June, in Sydney, we've put together an evening to help.

Much loved broadcaster and author Sarah Macdonald sits down with Dr Kathryn Mannix, pioneering palliative care physician, global campaigner for better care and conversations through the last stages of life, and author of With the End in Mind and Listen: How to Find the Words for Tender Conversations.

Join us for an honest, warm and occasionally funny conversation about how we talk to the people we love about living well, and dying well.

Kathryn has spent decades at the bedside of people in the last chapter of their lives. What she's learned about love, honesty, and what people most need to say has made her one of the most sought-after voices in the world on this. Sarah, host of Club Sandwich, has been giving national voice to the midlife generation quietly caring for ageing parents while raising kids, building careers, and holding everything else together.

You'll leave with the courage to begin. And so you don't have to hold it all in your head, every guest takes home a copy of Put The Kettle On, our free guide to the conversations worth having with your mum or dad.

Tuesday 2 June, 6pm to 8.30pm
Flex by ISPT The Collider, 477 Pitt St, Haymarket, Sydney (next to Central)
Tickets $35 at clubsandwich.community
Or find them at humanitix.com
https://shorturl.at/GEgEd

Link in the comments below.

A Club Sandwich night. With love. 💛🥪

An evening with Sarah Macdonald & Dr Kathryn Mannix on the conversations worth having before you need to. A Club Sandwich night, with love.

17/04/2026

Nobody wakes up one day and decides to become a carer.

It happens gradually. The extra phone calls. The driving to appointments. The quietly doing more and more until one day you look up and realise — this is your life now.

And somewhere in that shift, you may have noticed that parts of you went a little quiet. The things you used to do for yourself. The plans you used to make. The version of your life that existed before this one.

That doesn't mean you're doing it wrong. It means you're human — and you're carrying something significant.

At Violet, we support not just the person being cared for, but the person doing the caring. Because you matter in this too. 💜

15/04/2026

Australia is one of the least prepared countries in the world for death.

Not because we don't love the people we're losing.

Because we don't talk about it.

We talk around it. We use words like "passing" and "gone" and "not long now." We change the subject. We tell ourselves there's more time.

And then suddenly, there isn't.

At Violet, we believe that talking about death - honestly, openly, before the crisis - is one of the most loving things a family can do.

Violet is here for families who are ready to have that conversation. 💜

We're glad you're here.

04/04/2026

Today is the last day.

Our deadline to reach 1,000 letters is tonight.

If you've been meaning to write — this is it. Two minutes.

And if you've already written yours: thank you. You've done something that matters.

Violet is here to help. Help us stay here.

violet.org.au/no-family-alone

30/03/2026

Almost 60% of Australians are already caring for an ageing loved one — or will be within the next decade.

That's not a statistic. That's your mum. Your dad. Your partner. The person whose health is quietly changing and nobody's quite ready to talk about it yet.

Violet is here for that moment. For the conversations that feel too hard to start. For the families who are trying to figure this out alone.

Free. For any Australian family who needs us. Without a single dollar of government support.

We're asking the government to invest in us. We need 1,000 letters to the Ministers by 5 April.

Know someone who should see this? Share it on.

Write a letter here → violet.org.au/no-family-alone

30/03/2026

We need 1,000 Australians to write a letter before 5 April.

Violet has walked alongside 50,000 families through the last stage of life. Free support. Experienced Guides. Available 24/7.

Not one dollar of government funding.

We're asking the Federal Ministers for Health and Aged Care to change that — and ministers listen to people, not organisations.

It takes 3 minutes. No expertise needed — just your experience, in your words.

Write your letter here → violet.org.au/no-family-alone

30/03/2026

You probably know someone who's been through this.

A parent whose health started changing. A partner who needed more care than anyone knew how to give. A friend trying to hold a family together while holding down a job.

Violet was there for families like theirs. Free. Without a cent of government support.

We're asking the Ministers to change that. 1,000 letters by 5 April.

Know someone who should see this? Share it on.

Write yours here → violet.org.au/no-family-alone

29/03/2026

50,000 Australians.

That's how many people have turned to Violet when someone they love was approaching the last stage of life.

Free support. Honest conversations. Help planning for what's ahead.

Not one dollar of government funding. Ever.

We think that should change. And we need 1,000 letters to the Ministers by 5 April to make the case.

Three minutes. That's all it takes.

Write yours here → violet.org.au/no-family-alone

28/03/2026

Most families haven't planned yet.

Not because they don't care. Because no one helped them start.

Violet is here for that moment - the conversations that feel too hard to begin, the questions no one's quite ready to ask.

We've walked alongside 50,000 Australians through the last stage of life. Free. Without a single dollar of government funding.

We think that should change — and we need your help.

Write a letter to the Ministers. We've made it easy - it will take just two minutes: violet.org.au/no-family-alone

27/03/2026

Yesterday we had the privilege of speaking at the Palliative and End-of-Life Care Symposium – Central Coast 2026.

It was one of those rare rooms where clinical expertise, lived experience, and genuine care all met in the same place.

We asked the audience a simple question:

Think about the last person you supported through the final stages of life.

Who was supporting their family?

Behind every one of those people is a family trying to navigate decisions they’ve never been prepared for. Managing care. Holding emotions. Often while working, parenting, and continuing with everyday life.

And most are doing it without a roadmap.

• 2am phone calls
• Complex medical decisions
• Emotional overload while still working, parenting, living

Nearly 9 in 10 feel unprepared.

This is where Violet sits. Free one-on-one phone support for people supporting someone in the final stages of life.

- elderly or frail parents
- life limiting illness
- terminal diagnosis

Not replacing clinical care.
Not adding complexity.
But supporting the people carrying the invisible weight alongside it.

What we’re seeing is simple but powerful: When families feel supported, everything shifts.
They are more able to engage, to make decisions, and to be present in the moments that matter most.

And that changes everything.

We shared the words of Janet, a carer who worked with Violet:

“Having Violet there was where I could totally be me… I’m not alone anymore.”

That is why we do this work.

Find out more at violet.org.au