Couple’s incredible act of kindness to mates suffering under Melbourne’s gruelling lockdown – and how you can get involved too
- Ballarat couple sent groceries to friends in Melbourne via online shopping apps
- They suggested others do the same in a large private Facebook group
- The motivation is helping people suffering financially during the lockdown
- Mums Supporting Families in Need reported they are receiving care packages
Australians are sending groceries to friends and strangers in Melbourne in heartwarming efforts to make life easier for those stuck in the city’s brutal lockdown.
A mum from Ballarat told the Kindness Pandemic Facebook group on Wednesday that she and her partner sent groceries to a friend in Melbourne using the Woolworths shopping app.
She felt lucky to be outside the city and spared the worst of restrictions, but sorry for casual workers in Melbourne unsure of when they will be able to return to work.
Puck Rice (pictured) said she had sent groceries to friends impacted by Melbourne’s lockdown on the Kindness Pandemic Facebook page
‘My partner had an amazing idea,’ she wrote. ‘We are in an okay position during all of this, why don’t we put an order into the Woolies app and get some food delivered to one of our friends who is really struggling?
‘So we chose some things that we thought they’d like and need and got it delivered to her.’
Since then, others came forward to do the same thing, including Vanessa Brady, also from regional Victoria.
Ms Brady sent a $50 package to a friend in Melbourne she’d been told was unwell.
‘I’d heard he wasn’t so well and didn’t have a car so it was hard to get around, so I sent him a few staples,’ she told Daily Mail Australia.
Other people have also shared tales on the page with some poeple using online grocery shopping apps to send care packages to those under lockdown (stock image)
‘I sent coffee, frozen meals, pasta, noodles – just some things to give him some nourishment. And some vitamins.’
Grocery donations are also being made this way to non-profit group Mums Supporting Families in Need, which helps disadvantaged families, a volunteer for the service, Jane Symes, said
‘People do online orders at Woolworths or Coles and get them delivered straight to the factory that Mums Supporting Families in Need rent,’ she said.
‘They then bundle up food hampers and distribute them via local support agencies directly to families in need.’
Victoria was plunged into its fourth lockdown last week due to an outbreak which originated in hotel quarantine in Adelaide.
It was due to last seven days but on Wednesday the government announced Melbourne would be shut down for another week in accordance with its strategy to eliminate the virus.
State government sources predict other restrictions may be in place for weeks after the lockdown ends.
One woman who responded to the kindness pandemic thread was a good example of those affected.
‘My mum kindly offered to help me with this month’s rent,’ she wrote.
A resident in Melbourne walks from the Footscray Market in Melbourne on day five of the lockdown
‘My industry is closed and we can’t work from home. While my employer will pay us something it won’t be what I usually earn.
‘It’s certainly tougher this time round with no job keeper.’
Some have also sent groceries anonymously, even to complete strangers.
The acts of kindness earned universal praise in the Facebook group, which sprung up at the start of the pandemic and now has more than 550,000 members worldwide.
‘Beautiful idea guys…well done. We are sorry that Victoria has gone through so much in this pandemic,’ a member wrote in response.
‘We are thinking of you all. Stay strong Victoria you got this!’