Sisters of Charity Foundation

28/05/2026

Community Grant recipient World Literacy Foundation Australia is working to strengthen the literacy skills of young people from low-income backgrounds who face barriers to reading and writing. Through literacy tutoring, providing access to books and educational resources, and ongoing mentoring, the organisation helps young people build skills and confidence to reach their full potential.

In many remote communities, access to books, libraries and preschool learning opportunities can be limited. While Indigenous communities have rich cultural and oral storytelling traditions, geographic isolation, language differences and a lack of educational resources can make it more difficult for students to meet national reading benchmarks.

World Literacy Foundation Australia is currently delivering literacy classes to the Indigenous community in Yarrabah, near Cairns. Led by a local reading specialist, the sessions use games, songs, rhymes and interactive activities to encourage participation and learning. Parents were shown practical ways to support literacy development at home through reading, educational play and everyday language activities.

The local Yarrabah playgroup helped promote and host the sessions, while literacy packs containing books and educational resources were distributed to encourage ongoing participation and learning at home.

27/05/2026

Right now, the pressure on the people we help is relentless. The cost of living continues to increase Australia-wide, rental and mortgage payments have become unaffordable, and the prices of basics like groceries and petrol are staggering.

Families on lower incomes, who were once just getting by, are now facing impossible choices – and for too many, the very real risk of homelessness. This constant financial strain has led to nonstop anxiety and declining mental health.

You can help by making a donation to our Winter Appeal for Families in Crisis: bit.ly/3mFNSsq

Give today and make twice the difference. Thanks to a small group of key supporters, every dollar raised up to $29,000 will be matched – meaning you can DOUBLE your impact.

All donations above $2 are tax-deductible. Donate by 30 June to earn a tax benefit on your next refund.

25/05/2026

CONGRATULATIONS to Sandi Elliott for her well-deserved recognition in the 2026 South Australia Volunteer Awards! Sandi is Manager at In Home Hospice Care Mount Gambier, a volunteer-led organisation that provides essential in-home support for people facing life-limiting illnesses. Sandi has recruited, trained, and mentored more than 55 volunteers, ensuring they are well-prepared to provide compassionate and professional palliative care and emotional support to individuals and families.

She has established partnerships with local professionals and community services to enhance the care provided and developed caregiver education programs, equipping family members and informal carers with practical skills and emotional strategies to better support a loved one dying at home.

In Home Hospice Care Mount Gambier has received almost $30K in funding through the Foundation’s Community Grants Program since 2024.

22/05/2026

‘Retired schoolteacher Sandra Barker has been single and a renter all her adult life. The 70-year-old lives by herself in a two-bedroom unit in Sydney's south-west. She says she'd like to rent in a "better" suburb but doesn't believe she'd be able to afford it, given her rent costs more than 60 per cent of her fortnightly pension.

"I think it's a bit misleading, actually, to think that every baby boomer is cashed up for retirement; I'm certainly not," Sandra told Insight.

Sandra has lived in her unit for two years, but is aware her situation could change. "I get terrified about [the rent going up]. But I wait for it and cross my fingers and say: 'I hope it's not going to happen this year'," Sandra said.

She is also wary of her landlord selling the apartment, leaving her having to find a new home before the notice period ends. It's a situation she's experienced before.

Even more worrying for Sandra is the prospect of joining the fastest-growing group of people experiencing homelessness in Australia: women aged 55 and over. "I've seen a lot of stories about women my age becoming homeless. I've lived in areas in the city where I've seen homeless women sleeping on benches. I hope it's never going to happen to me, but I am a bit terrified of it."

The retired teacher is now studying to be a library assistant and hopes she will never have the experience of being unhoused. "I guess if it were to happen to me, I'm not sure what I'd do..." Sandra said. "... I think I'd probably sleep in my car or see if I could get some help from friends and couch surf or something along those lines."

Story and photo: SBS News: bit.ly/49dR0Rr

20/05/2026

For families on lower incomes, the increased cost of living has led to impossible choices: skip meals, fall behind on bills, or risk losing their home.

With your help, we feed, house and educate some of the most disadvantaged people in Australia. Your gift this winter will ensure desperate people have somewhere to turn for help.

Give today and make twice the difference. Thanks to a small group of key supporters, every dollar raised up to $29,000 will be matched – meaning you can DOUBLE your impact.

Make your donation: bit.ly/3mFNSsq

All donations above $2 are tax-deductible. Donate by 30 June to earn a tax benefit on your next refund.

The increased cost of living has led to impossible choices. Struggling families are in urgent need of your help this winter.

18/05/2026

“I’ve been volunteering with The Footpath Library in Martin Place in Sydney for nearly four years. One of the things I love is that I really find it rewarding, but I know the people who come along – like how we know their name, know how they like their tea – and we have a little chat. It’s so much more than tea and coffee and a book that we offer. It’s a sense of community, the same people come back week after week, and you get to know them and their story. I love going along and seeing the regulars, it’s a huge part of why I love it, it’s a community.”

Our Community Grants recipient The Footpath Library provides quality books, reading glasses, and opportunities for social connection to people experiencing homelessness. Footpath Library vans visit around 25 regular locations across NSW, Victoria and WA, and give away more than 8,000 books every year – much of this work made possible by an amazing team of volunteers, like Kelly-Anne (pictured).

“Our mobile library services are all different – some are held on the street, others in community centres, hubs, social housing complexes, health services,” says The Footpath Library Founder and Managing Director Sarah Garnett. “Our volunteers attend a designated location on a regular basis so that our readers get to know them and vice versa, which leads to an atmosphere of safety and calm.”

The Footpath Library received a Community Grant of $20,000 in December 2025 to support the mobile library program.

14/05/2026

Congratulations to the 2026 Mentor Support Network (MSN) scholarship recipients!

The organisation provides educational scholarships of up to $2,000 to high school students entering Year 11, or vocational students starting the final years of their technical/vocational training in the New South Wales Hunter region. A Community Grant of $20,000 helped MSN provide 52 educational scholarships to students this year.

MSN Chairperson Julie Rich said the successful group of students, who must be nominated by support teachers or similar personnel to apply for a scholarship, underwent interviews last October and were notified during November about their result. Many students started using their scholarship funds in late 2025 as they prepared for the 2026 academic year with the purchase of new computers being a popular item.

“The overall goal of the scholarship program is to assist disadvantaged young people to stay in senior years at high school or in vocational training and reach their potential in terms of individual education and career goals,” she said.

12/05/2026

“I never really knew what university was until I reached late high school years, no one from my immediate family had spoken about further education and the possibilities when I was younger. But ever since I was little I had career ambitions that would require me to one day study at university. I always wanted to do something that involved helping others: midwifery, nursing, paramedicine, teaching... and the list would go on!

As children do, I was always coming up with new goals and dreams. I also really enjoyed school, in a lot of ways school was a safe place for me, somewhere I could genuinely just be a child while also learning. I was the type of child who would ask for homework as it kept me busy and I enjoyed the task of learning and figuring things out, so it is no surprise I ended up in university.

I went into university with a set goal and a lot of determination, I wanted to be a paramedic. However, after a nursing placement I discovered I was really primarily enjoying nursing, so I swapped. I enjoyed following people's journey, taking the time to do the small things that made a big difference.

I am currently really enjoying the mental health unit I am completing, I think a lot of this may stem from experiences with individuals who have lived with mental health problems. From a young age, I was exposed to individuals who suffered from drug misuse and addiction. I also have grown up around individuals who have lived experiences of other mental health conditions that impact their day-to-day lives and how they interact with others. This gave me a lot of insight from a young age and allowed me to have a greater sense of understanding. I also very much enjoy my practical classes that allows me to learn and practice hands-on skills in the lab!”

On International Nurses Day we’d like to highlight our scholarship student Savannah, who is in her second year of a Bachelor of Nursing at Australian Catholic University. She has a beautiful, caring nature, she’s smart as hell, and we know she’ll make a wonderful nurse.

09/05/2026

Today we celebrate the strength, love and resilience of mothers everywhere. We’re especially mindful of the mums facing challenges like financial hardship, housing insecurity, family violence or raising children on their own. We work alongside some incredible organisations to ensure these women have somewhere to turn for support, stability and hope.

Every mother deserves the chance to feel safe, supported, and able to give her children the best possible future.

07/05/2026

Nathan lived in a home with severe, dangerous repair issues: from toxic mould contaminating the supply of drinking water to rotten floorboards, faulty wiring, and an unusable laundry. Even after the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) issued the rental provider with an urgent repair order, his rental provider refused to act.

Living in a home that makes you sick, having to choose between paying rent or eating, or living in constant fear of becoming homeless is the reality for many of the seven million renters in Australia. Our Community Grants recipient Anika Legal is a free service that helps vulnerable Victorian renters stay in safe homes.

When Nathan arrived at Anika Legal, the team helped him pursue the repairs through VCAT. When the rental provider still refused, they supported him to seek compensation. Instead of making the repairs, the rental provider began repeatedly trying to evict him!

Anika Legal helped Nathan to challenge five successive retaliatory evictions at VCAT. After finally securing a new home and safely moving out, the rental provider then made a claim against Nathan for his bond and additional compensation.

With Anika’s support, Nathan ultimately received his full bond back and was awarded more than $15,000 in compensation.

Today, Nathan is safe and happy in his new rental property. He says:

“I felt incredibly supported and informed throughout the entire process thanks to Anika’s assistance… Honestly, having Anika in our corner [has been] the biggest thing that has helped to deal with the whole experience… We never would’ve gotten as far as we did, or got the compensation we have, without your help."

Sisters of Charity Foundation funding helped Anika Legal employ a community lawyer to provide free legal help to Victorian renters – like Nathan – facing eviction, unfair rent increases, unsafe living conditions, and more.

05/05/2026

‘The past few years have been "bumpy" for Hunter and his mother. Inflation and rising rental costs bit into their single-parent household budget. Then the "explosion" came.

Their home on the New South Wales' Mid North Coast, which they had for more than 10 years, was being put up for sale. Even with multiple jobs, Hunter's mother was outmatched by the depths of Australia's housing inequity.

Only two alternatives remained: living in their car or with Hunter's elderly grandmother.

The teen was very young when they started renting their former home. It was a "saving grace" after struggling with previous bouts of housing insecurity. But after they were evicted, more than a decade on, their options had only worsened. Port Macquarie's average rent skyrocketed, with the coastal town becoming an investor's market.

His mother got a part-time job in addition to full-time work, but it wasn't enough to cover inflated rental costs. "There were plenty of rentals, but they were rentals for $800 a week," Hunter says.

He also believes his mother's attempts to secure another property were hindered by single-parent bias. "Even if there were rentals that we could afford … when you've got the perfect couple who applies, the single parent goes well down on the priority list," he says. "Even if you do have the money, you can't get anything because there's that instant stigma."

Before losing his rental, Hunter had structure, an easy relationship with friends and a game plan for year 11. That all changed overnight.

His belongings were packed into cardboard boxes after moving in with his grandmother. His mother's bed now lay inches away from his. He felt himself grow distant from friends because he didn't want them to know he was homeless.

"My mental health was out. My mum's was as well, because then that's when she picked up another job," he says. "There was nothing good about it. I couldn't learn, I couldn't excel. I couldn't do anything with the space I was in because when you're in that environment, you don't have any motivation to get up. It was just a very depressing time."

In Hunter's experience, "a single-parent income affects everything. Cost-of-living is huge for everyone, but especially a single-parent income because you've got one income that has to stretch over way more things."

He thinks of the families who are not as fortunate as he was. "There are other kids my age who didn't have the choice to go to someone's house and stay," he says. "There are people I know who do pitch the tent near the beach in the bush. And most homeless – 99 per cent – are people who work hard. Who have or had jobs, who had a good education, who try hard. They just don't have the support."

Story and photo: ABC News: ab.co/4tjMhVB