The gift of hope
In the Anderson household, giving happens all year round.
Anita and Grant Anderson of Springwood based Charity, Touch Of Hope (TOH), spend every Thursday preparing for their weekly Community Outreach event on the corner of Ewing and Wembley Rds., Woodridge.
On Thursday outreach evenings, there is live music along with hot meals and refreshments. There’s even a hairdresser, food hampers for grabs and a trailer chock-full of donated items – and it’s all free.
“We’ve been on the other side of the fence when I was made redundant – not once, but twice in 2 years – and dealing with a mortgage,’ Grant says.
‘It was patchy, so we wanted to fill the void and help others in a predicament now that we were in the position to do so.’
The Andersons, along with 16 volunteers, spend hours cooking up all sorts of homestyle family-friendly meals, as well as a variety of desserts.
Meanwhile, the other goodies – like food, clothing, sanitary items and books – are donated by local businesses and organisations that have partnered with TOH.
Anita, who was awarded Logan’s Citizen of the Year in 2021, says everyone is welcome.
‘We don’t judge – whether you’re struggling, experiencing homelessness, or just coming down for that social contact,’ she says.
‘Once we’ve served meals, our volunteers go around and chat so we can get to know everyone and what they may need.
‘We are grassroots front-line charity – the Outreach has a real sense of community about it. I enjoy chatting with everyone and listening to their stories and situations.’
Last Christmas, one of their busiest seasons, the TOH team spent hours collecting non-perishable goods and gifts to hand out during their Christmas community outreach.
Although the festive season is over, TOH continues to support the community with the help of others.
One of TOH’s community partners, Desley of Slacks Creek’s Aussie Pet Collective, recently gave the organisation a space to store fresh produce and bread.
‘Produce is available 6 days a week and it’s collected and delivered to the shop for anyone that is in need,’ Anita says.
The Anderson philosophy of lending a helping hand has already been inherited by their grandchildren, who volunteer on outreach nights and advocate for other young people to join.
Meanwhile, their daughter Kirstin is a fellow TOH co-founder and has recently started her own project named ‘Little Bags of Love’. These bags, which contain baby essentials, are given to foster mums in need.
Grant hopes their work with Touch Of Hope will inspire others to pay it forward and mitigate the stigma of homelessness.
‘If we can help, we will do something, ‘ Anita says.
‘If we sit back and think somebody else will do it, things will never change.’
If you’d like to support and give back to the community, visit the Touch of Hope Facebook page.
