Big Group Hug

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Supporting vulnerable children in Victoria one Big Group Hug at a time 🧸 This is unacceptable and unfathomable.

At Big Group Hug, we're on a mission to inspire you to support the immediate needs of vulnerable children and their families. Together, we can redistribute free essential aid for children aged newborn
to 16 years - items of absolute necessity including toiletries, clothing, books, infant formula,
nappies, car seats, prams, bedding and more - through our extensive network of health and welfare agencies and community organisations. The children and families we support are living in financial crisis due to family violence, unemployment/underemployment, homelessness, and seeking refuge. Carers are often forced to choose between providing dependent children with warm clothing and safe bedding, or a hot meal.

1 in 6 children in Australia live below the poverty line. As a community, we can join forces to ensure these children have the essentials they need to thrive. We are all individuals with a strong belief in ensuring that all children deserve the best start in life, and that communities have the ability and a desire to give less fortunate families a big group hug and some practical support in their time of need. Join us today.
- Pass on your children's hand-me-downs for us to repurpose with another family
- Volunteer your time from home or at one of our hubs in Thomastown, Airport West or Tarneit (Victoria).
- Donate funds to keep our work going
- Partner with us, you'll be surprised what a small or big business can achieve
- Tell a friend about us

Where to find us:
Thomastown HQ (City of Whittlesea)
337 Settlement Rd, Warehouse 12
• Mon – Thu, 9:00 am – 2:00 pm
• First Saturday of the month, 10 am – 12 pm

Airport West Hub (City of Moonee Valley)
4/29 Hawker St, Airport West
• Mondays and Wednesdays, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm
• First Saturday of the month, 10 am – 12 pm

Tarneit Hub (City of Wyndham)
2-28 Goddard St, Tarneit 3029
• Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm
• First Saturday of the month, 10 am – 12 pm

* Closed all public holidays

01/11/2026

We're closed Monday 2 and Tuesday 3 November. We look forward to seeing you again later in the week!

Thomastown
12/337 Settlement Road
Monday–Thursday, 9am–2pm

Tarneit
2/28 Goddard Street
Tuesday–Thursday, 9:30am–12:30pm

Airport West
4/29 Hawker Street
Monday and Wednesday, 9:30am–12:30pm

All locations will be open this Saturday from 10am - 12pm.

30/10/2026

The prize donation thank-yous are kind of a big dill (get it!) around here... so here's round two.

A big thank you to the businesses and organisations who donated prizes for the afternoon session of Pickleball for Purpose last Friday. We’re so grateful you chose to get involved and support Big Group Hug.

Read our event wrap up and check out photos from the day here > https://biggrouphug.org/blog/pickleball-for-purpose-brings-melbourne-businesses-together-for-good/

Prizes included:
- Moose Toys mixed toy hamper
- The Laurel Hotel Ascot Vale gift card
- Rush Escape Game experience for two
- Pickles Milk Bar, Lygon Street food voucher
- Beyond Rest Hawthorn Contour red-light therapy experience
- Moon Dog gift voucher
- Dillicious Pickles gourmet voucher
- Stomping Ground Brewery & B**r Hall - Collingwood food and beverage gift card
- Entermission escape room voucher
- Bunnings Thomastown beach cart
- Cocoa De Venci box of chocolates

Thank you for backing Pickleball for Purpose and helping us raise support for children and families across Victoria!

29/10/2026

One week on from Pickleball for Purpose and we're still buzzing!

A huge thank you to the generous businesses and organisations who donated prizes for the morning session of Pickleball for Purpose last Friday. Their contributions helped us bring people together for a great day of fun, friendly competition and fundraising for Big Group Hug, and we’re so grateful!

Read our event wrap up and check out photos from the day here > https://biggrouphug.org/blog/pickleball-for-purpose-brings-melbourne-businesses-together-for-good/

Prizes donated for our morning session raffle included:
- Quest Bundoora two-night stay, including parking and a bottle of w**e
- Joey and Grace nappy bag filled with assorted items
- Moose Toys Toys mixed toy hamper
- Chemist Warehouse Preston hamper
- Melbourne River Cruises voucher
- Beyond Rest Hawthorn Cocoon Wellness Pod, infrared sauna and red-light therapy experiences
- Nanna's Place Mediterranean Restaurant, South Melbourne dining voucher
- Beyond Rest Moonee Ponds infrared sauna and float experiences
- Soak Bathhouse South Yarra voucher
- Dillicious Pickles gourmet voucher
- Entermission VR escape room gift card
- iPantry online food and hamper gift card
- Bunnings Tarneit vouchers

Thank you for helping make the morning session such a success!

29/10/2026

Our Festive Gift Collection is officially underway, and we’d love you to be part of it.

This year, you can choose to collect backpacks filled with children’s essentials, or bed linen for children who need a fresh start, or both! It’s a great way to get friends, family, workmates, or your local community involved in helping children across Victoria.

Think about what a difference it can make for a child to have their own backpack, new things to read and play with, or a warm, comfortable bed to sleep in. These are everyday items many of us take for granted, but for families doing it tough, they can be difficult to afford, especially at Christmas.

Here’s how you can get involved:

- Collect backpacks and help fill them with items children will love and use.
- Collect bed linen, particularly single sheets, blankets and doona covers.
- Bring people together at your workplace, school, club or among friends and family to collect items together.

You don’t have to do it alone. A small collection can grow quickly when more people get involved, and every contribution helps us prepare for the children and families who need us.

Want to take part? Learn how you can arrange your festive collection and let us know whether you’d like to collect backpacks, linen or both by registering here > https://gifts-for-kids.biggrouphug.org/

Please share this post with someone who might like to get involved, too. We’d love to see more workplaces, schools, community groups and families join in!

29/10/2026

You don’t need to make one big donation to help local children. Workplace Giving lets you choose a small amount from each pay and provide regular support to Big Group Hug.

Five dollars a week adds up to $260 over a year. Ten dollars adds up to $520. Twenty dollars adds up to $1,040.

That regular support helps us keep providing personalised care packs filled with everyday essentials for children who need them.

Choose an amount that feels right for you. Set it up once and help all year >
https://biggrouphug.org/support-us/workplace-giving/

28/10/2026

URGENT CALL-OUT: BED LINEN. Please share with your friends and to your stories.

A bed with clean, warm bedding, can make a real difference for children who are:
- Moving into a new home after homelessness or family violence.
- Settling into emergency or crisis accommodation.
- Starting over with very few belongings.
- Growing out of their cot and into a big bed.
- Living in families doing it tough, where replacing worn-out bedding simply isn’t affordable.

We urgently need:
- Single flat sheets
- Single fitted sheets
- Blankets
- Doona covers
- New doonas only, please

If you have any of these items to donate, we’d be so grateful if you could drop them off at one of our locations. And if you’re able to collect items from friends, family or your workplace, that would be a huge help too.

We’re collecting bed linen as part of our festive gift collection, helping make sure children experiencing hardship have the essentials they need, not just at Christmas, but throughout the year. Can you help us collect bed linen in the lead-up to Christmas? Learn more and register > https://gifts-for-kids.biggrouphug.org/

Please note: All Big Group Hug locations will be closed this coming Monday and Tuesday for the long weekend. Please plan your drop-off for our next open day.

Drop-off locations and hours

Thomastown
12/337 Settlement Road
Monday–Thursday, 9am–2pm

Tarneit
2/28 Goddard Street
Tuesday–Thursday, 9:30am–12:30pm

Airport West
4/29 Hawker Street
Monday and Wednesday, 9:30am–12:30pm

If you can’t donate right now, please share this post with friends, family, workmates or local community groups. You never know who might have exactly what a child needs.

Thank you for helping us get the basics to children who need them. Every sheet, blanket and doona cover helps us prepare for the families who will turn to Big Group Hug this Christmas and beyond.

27/10/2026

A huge congratulations to Jeremy on being named a Westfield Local Hero at Westfield Plenty Valley, and to Ann on being recognised as a finalist at Westfield Airport West.

Both Jeremy and Ann have made an incredible contribution to Big Group Hug through their dedication, compassion and commitment to supporting children and families across Victoria. It's a reflection of the impact they have made, not only within our organisation, but in the wider community.

While awards and recognition are wonderful, Jeremy and Ann have always been heroes in our eyes. Day after day, like so many of our volunteers, they go above and beyond to help ensure children and families have the essentials they need, giving their time, energy and care with unwavering generosity. Big Group Hug simply wouldn't be the same without them, and we are incredibly grateful for everything they do.

Congratulations Jeremy and Ann on this very well-deserved recognition. We are just so so proud of you.

26/10/2026

Three carloads of essentials for mums and bubs!
A big thank you to Phil, COO of Friends With Dignity, for this generous donation of nappy bags and gift bags filled with useful essentials for mums and babies.
These items will be put to good use in Big Group Hug’s care packages, helping us provide essentials to families experiencing hardship.
Friends with Dignity works to provide safe housing, and sometimes the items they receive are better suited to organisations like ours. Rather than letting useful donations go unused, this new connection means they can find their way to families who need them.
We’re so grateful to Phil and the Friends with Dignity team for thinking of us.
Have items you no longer need? Get in touch with us. We’d love to hear from you and see if we can put them to good use. And when we receive items that aren’t quite right for the children and families we support, we’re always happy to connect with like-minded grassroots organisations who can make use of them.
Because when we work together, great things happen!

22/10/2026

A big thank you to Owen, an Eltham North Scouts Cub, who is leading a Festive Backpack Drive for Big Group Hug as part of his ‘Creating a Better World’ project.

Owen has encouraged his fellow Joeys and Cubs to donate items from our wish list to fill backpacks he’s supplying, with a goal of having at least 12 ready by Christmas! What a legend!

Would your school, workplace, or community group like to organise a collection for Big Group Hug? Register your interest with us, we’d love to help you get started > https://gifts-for-kids.biggrouphug.org/

22/10/2026

Did you spot us on 7NEWS Australia tonight?

We were thrilled to have 7 News highlight FutureFIT, supporting young people aged 15–24 as they take their first steps into employment.

FutureFIT, a collaboration between Big Group Hug and Ready Set Australia, operating from Big Group Hug’s Tarneit Hub, offers free wardrobe styling and interview-ready clothing to young people facing financial hardship in the city of Wyndham and surrounding LGAs.

A huge thank you to Jacob for sharing his experience as a job seeker with the nation. 💙

👉 Learn more https://biggrouphug.org/in-the-media/dressed-to-impress-futurefit-featured-on-7-news/

Address

12/337 Settlement Road
Thomastown, VIC
3074

Website

http://www.biggrouphug.org/, https://donate.biggrouphug.org/, https://biggrouphug.org/how-to-donate

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