A huge thank you to our inner west community for your support of  the “It’s in the Bag” campaign.

“It’s in the Bag” is an annual campaign run by Share the Dignity, originally created to support women facing homelessness, domestic violence or financial hardship at Christmastime, a time when they often go without to ensure their children receive gifts.

The aim is to donate a handbag full of women’s everyday essentials of shampoo, conditioner, soap, toothpaste, toothbrush, deodorant, sanitary products – the things we often take for granted – as well as some additional extras to ensure they know they are not forgotten at Christmas. This year the campaign extended to include teen and baby bags.

While the  The Seddon Community Bank Branch became a drop off point for complete handbags, the team at MAD Youth put out a call to collect the essentials to create their own bags. MAD Youth gratefully received support from Western Health Collective, Footscray West Primary School, Wembley Primary School, Maidstone Community Centre and The Village Store, as collection points, which resulted in the group creating 31 handbags while 15 full handbags were donated by staff and community at the Seddon Community Bank Branch.

The stories from Share the Dignity have been inspiring and humbling. “A young girl just 15 years old received a bag from her child safety officer, the only Christmas gift she will receive. She absolutely loved it and was excited about everything in the bag and said she felt so spoilt and that it was the best present she had ever received!”

Thank you to our wonderful community who supported the campaign and made donations – we couldn’t do it without you!