I am so pleased this month to be transferring our first funds raised, almost $5000, via our "parties with a purpose" to Open Haven.
Open Haven provide a supportive space where women can come for assistance and support to get their lives back on track after leaving a situation of domestic abuse. The women receive a wide range of assistance from the councilors and volunteers at the Open Haven "Hubs". The assistance is practical and transformational, offering help with things such as gaining a driving license, assistance with where to find safe housing, where to find a job and do training and reskilling and just moral and emotional support and fellowship. There is even meals offered for women who are finding it difficult to feed families while they get their lives back on track. If you have ever gone hungry, or been down to your last dollar and you need to feed your child, you will know how heartbreaking and soul destroying it is to be in a position like this. But it is not defining of your future and not defining of you as a person and with support that great community organisations, such as Open Haven, offer it can pass with dignity and kindness into a new future.
I visited Open Haven Founder Sabeel Burgess recently to check out the space and met some of the team who work at Open Haven and heard first hand of the women and families that are assisted through the work they do. We often have no way of knowing what assistance we can give to those in our community who are doing it tough. Quite frankly it is easy to get caught up in our own lives and focus on ourselves but visiting places such as Open Haven is eye opening to the number of families who are doing it very tough - sleeping in their cars to keep their children safe, for example, as they have no other safe place to go.
It gives me time to reflect on what it means to be grateful for what we have and to appreciate the small acts of giving that we can all do. We often focus on what we don't have, instead of what we do have, forgetting what we should be grateful for. To live in a safe home and to have enough food, love, health and security to live without burden, is a truly fortunate thing. A safe home is not there for many who go unseen in our community and this makes the work of Open Haven critical.
For me it is simple, if you have all you need then give a little to others, it makes the world a little kinder and perhaps can transform a strangers life to take on a new and more hopeful turn, what is more powerful than that?
We are looking for hosts to support Open Haven and the other charities we are working with. If you are able to generously host a dinner for friends and pay your good fortune forward then please contact us at My Giving Table for more information about how easy it is to host and raise funds with a "party with a purpose". We will welcome your enquiry and support you in any way we can to make your party a success. So why not join our My Giving Table movement, like the lovely ladies in the image below?
To start the conversation follow this link https://www.mygivingtable.com.au/become-a-host
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