Dignity in Bendigo

10/12/2025

It is always a pleasure to deliver these bags to the charities and organisations that will then distribute the bags to those in our community who need it most.
Here are the organisations on our delivery list this year (permission has been granted to share on social media) ...
Cultura (formerly Loddon Campaspe Multicultural Centre)
Annie North
Haven Home Safe
Bendigo TAFE
Castlemaine Safe Space
Sunshine Bendigo
Orange Door
Bendigo Community Health Services
Maldon Neighbourhood Centre
Maryborough Salvation Army

One thing was abundantly clear - they were ecstatic to see all the bags from you the Community- well done Bendigo, you certainly gave when it was needed most. On behalf of the Share the Dignity Volunteers here in Bendigo I thank you and stay tuned until March next year when our March period drive starts ❤️

09/12/2025

For those that donated, did you ever wonder what happens to your bags after you had dropped them of at Bunnings?
Here in Bendigo the volunteers choose to get together for a weekend of bag checking, repacking and just getting together to support each other in this mammoth task in processing all the bags donated.
Firstly, there are pick up shifts at Bunnings for 2 weeks. We hold onto these bags at home and on the weekend of 5-7 December we came together at the Spring Gully United Soccer Club (they kindly donated the use of their facilities as these bags take up space!)
Secondly, each bag is checked to make sure there are no products that are on the no-go list and to see if all the essentials are in the bag, if not we top them up. The bag is then repacked as it was donated, tagged as an adult, teen or mum and bub bag (our tags are numbered to save us counting!) and then placed in their relative pile.
Once all bags are done we move on to the third and last step - placed into their delivery piles.

This drive we checked and completed 1045 bags! What a fantastic effort by the community of Bendigo. The quality of the bag and contents were excellent this year (as they are every year!)
Thankyou BENDIGO 😁
So who has started building up their bag supplies for next year?😜

30/11/2025

By the time you read this our Bunnings collection boxes would be shut down signalling the end of Its In The Bag 2025 campaign.

I would just like to take this opportunity so say thankyou and gee I love the community of Bendigo and surrounds! Because this community has a big heart and just keeps on giving!

It is a difficult time, at this point in the year, as we come into the expenses associated with Christmas, but you as a community have rallied around us volunteers to help us get these much needed bags to the women and teens doing it tough.

It is hard to pinpoint just what stood out amongst the donations but what an effort YOU, as part of the community, have done –

· Donated complete bags

· Donated what you could

· Donated spares/top ups and extras

· Donated handmade goodies (loved seeing the talent in the community)

· Written heartfelt messages of love and support.

· Taken the time and effort to shop for the products

· And most importantly shown how much you really care about others in our community.

Now the time has come for us volunteers to do what we look forward to each year and that is come together next weekend to check and put the part bags together to make them complete and then distribute them to our charity and organisations that have requested them.

Stay tuned until next weekend to see some crazy chaotic pics!

Again, my sincerest thankyou for all you have done to show women and teens struggling at this point in their lives that this community really does care about them.

Hope to see you participate in the March and August Dignity Drives of 2026. Or Its In The Bag 2026.

29/11/2025

Do you know someone who sews, knits, crochets, embroiders and or card makes? Wondering if they or you could put their creative talents to use and help us in the Its In The Bag campaign?

If they can then we NEED you!

We absolutely love seeing the handmade items coming through in the bag collections. Whether they are handmade bags, totes, quilted bags, zipper purses, tissue pouches from sewers or face washers, beanies, scarves, headbands from knitters or beautiful cards from the card makers – it is always a pleasure to see these.

Whether you make it as part of your bag or as individual items you can still donate and drop them in the Bunnings boxes by Sunday November 30.

Have you already donated and this post has got you thinking 'now why didn't I make something?' - you know we do this campaign approximately the same time each year so why not start making and creating for next years Its In the Bag campaign - just saying!

Check out the photos of what has come through so far ...

28/11/2025

So what sort of shopper are you? Organised and confident? Or a more casual and diva like type shopper or chaotic and last minute?

Whichever one you are there are only 2 more days to shop for a bag and get it to you local Bunnings store!

Please if you haven’t already donated and have the means to do so then consider helping us get your donated bag to those women and teens doing it tough. If you have already shopped and donated a bag – a big thankyou ❤️

26/11/2025

Have you wondered what happens to your bag(s) after you have donated them at Bunnings? The following occurs between you creating a bag and the recipient receiving your bag...

1. We, the volunteers of Share the Dignity, collect bags in shifts from Bunnings (once a day weekdays and twice a day on weekends)

2. Take them home and hold them until our packing weekend (more on that in a future post)

3. Bags are checked and topped up with the essentials if necessary

4. Bags are delivered to the organisations and charities that have requested bags

5. Once at the organisation or charity they are then given to the adults, teens and mums that require them.

Have you also wondered what organisations and charities we support in Bendigo and the wider region? Below are some of the wonderful organisations that we are delivering bags to this year:

Orange Door
(Salvation Army Maryborough VIC)
Sunshine Bendigo
Castlemaine Safe Space
Annie North Inc.

tafe
Maldon Neighbourhood Centre

Just a reminder there is still time to drop your bags off at your local Bunnings before Sunday 30 November.

26/11/2025

As a volunteer of Share the Dignity and when doing the Its In The Bag campaign it never ceases to amaze me the generosity and eagerness for groups to be involved in some way.

This year Bendigo Spiritual Enlightenment Centre has raised funds for us to purchase top ups of essentials to go in the bags.

Chatting to a member of the group it was quite unique how they raised $475 for us – they had, what I would call, a perpetual garage sale! Every month at their meetings people would bring in items for others to buy and the end result is Share the Dignity gets their much needed top ups while members get treasures which was otherwise deemed trash by someone else ... WIN, WIN!!!

I love how this group has chosen STD as their charity this year – I hope this relationship continues for years to come.

If you think a group or organisation you belong to could help us next year by raising funds or collecting components to make bags over the course of the coming year, then please consider the Its In the Bag 2026 campaign - all bags donated are used to fulfill the Bendigo and surrounds requests.

We are near the end of the Its In the Bag 2025 and there is still time for you to put a bag together and drop it off at your local Bunnings store before Sunday 30 November.

Remember ... “as a community we can work together to give hope to those in need"

25/11/2025

Who packed a bag on the weekend? Did it give you a warm fuzzy feeling knowing that the bag(s) you packed is going to help a woman or teen doing it tough? it possibly could just make their Christmas that much more enjoyable or their situation more tolerable knowing that someone out there cares about what they are going through.

The request numbers, from the charities and organisations Share the Dignity supports in the wider Bendigo community are being finalised. As it stands we need:
434 x adult - we have 267
157 x teen - we have 54
139 mum & bub bags - we have 84!
As you can see we have a shortfall especially in adult and teen bags. With what we have collected so far we will not be able to fulfill the requests ...

CAN YOU HELP US?

1 bag + 1 woman = 1 massive difference

If you can please put a bag together and drop it off at the local Bunnings store by Sunday 30 November ... we have less than a week to go!

24/11/2025

I love receiving messages and photos about community involvement - how is this for a bit of WEEKEND WARRIORS ...

A group of Bendigo friends get together each year and have a day of packing bags.
Last year these women decided to do mainly Mum & Bub bags for the Its In The Bag 2025 campaign. Throughout the year they have shopped and collected all the essentials required for a Mum & Bub bag and came together on Saturday to make a day of it and achieved a whopping 50 Mum & Bub bags (yes that is not a typo!) PLUS 25 adult bags. Wow what an fabulous effort by just a tiny part of the community.

THANKYOU ladies you have given 75 women, doing it tough in our community, a bit of dignity and hope for the future.

We still don't have enough bags donated for our area 🙁 - we are short 250 adult, 120 teen and 75 mumb & bub.

Please if you have the capacity to donate there is still time to drop them at Bunnings by Sunday 30 November.

23/11/2025

One of the most powerful acts you can do – write a note with words of encouragement, empowerment, thoughtfulness and love.

Feedback from bags given in the past has been the impact that a single caring note given in a bag can have a lasting impression on the receiver. It is something that they can keep close to them to remind them that someone in their community cares.

We have been fortunate to read some of the notes/cards that are in the bags and some have made us smile, some have empowered us but most have made us tear up with the sincerity of the note.

It doesn't take long and it is free! So remember to pop a note or card in your bag before dropping it into the donation boxes at Bunnings by Sunday 30 November.

For inspiration check out some of these notes so far ...

23/11/2025

Thankyou to these awesome ladies! The volunteers that collect, check and redistribute these bags are going to love doing these ... I spy some handmade bags there 😉 Thanks again for helping the women in Bendigo doing it tough ❤️

HUGE appreciation to the Axedale Retreat ladies that have donated to our ‘Share The Dignity’ drive.
Kerri has been working hard to coordinate all the donations into bags, ready to hand over - thank you Kez 😍
Thank you all for your generosity and kindness 🩷

23/11/2025

This fabulous team of ladies have kindly got together and donated bags for the Its In The Bag campaign this year. Your bags will be well received by those women in Bendigo doing it tough 🙂