Community

"Yes, the church that I see is committed to bringing the love and hope of Christ to impossible situations through the preaching of the gospel and a mandate that drives us to do all we can to bring help and solution to a needy world. Whose head is Jesus, whose help is the Holy Spirit and whose focus is the Great Commission.”

The Church I Now See

CityCare

2020 was a challenging year for all Australians as we faced bushfires in January and February and a global pandemic in the months that followed. With new restrictions in place, lockdowns and closed borders, many of the things we took for granted, such as going to the shops or seeing loved ones in person, were no longer a part of our daily lives. Many Australians faced social isolation, job losses and food insecurity as the flow on effects of the pandemic started to take shape. We believe that this is a time for the Church to stand up and take action, meeting the needs of the hurting and creating pathways for those of us who are able to help.

As with many other organisations, CityCare responded in the first few weeks of the pandemic to provide emergency relief for those people who were not able to access savings or government support or who simply fell through the cracks. As we are primarily funded by our church, we were able to continue to support our community throughout the year. Our staff and volunteers met needs as they arose and quickly shifted gears to respond to the unfolding crisis.

Although this pandemic pivoted our crisis response to food relief, in the recovery phase everything that we know about the community and how to work with vulnerable groups is still true and needed more than ever. Crisis exacerbates vulnerability. If people were vulnerable before the pandemic, they would be increasingly vulnerable during it and will also take longer to recover.

The pandemic didn’t change CityCare’s mission, it was only amplified. Our mission is even more important today than ever.

Catherine Thambiratnam

Head of Social Justice, Hillsong Australia

Supporting youth

CityCare Youth programs provide a range of school-based activities which include Youth COACH mentoring, Safe Spaces – involving sport, breakfast clubs and after-school hangouts, as well as facilitating ShineGirl and Strength personal development classes.

With restrictions in place during the pandemic, we were presented with the challenge to come up with innovative ways to continue to support these schools and their students. In discussion with teachers, we learnt that one of their key needs was provision of non-perishable food items to help vulnerable students attending school who didn’t have anything to eat. Prior to the pandemic, statistics from Foodbank had shown that at least one in five children in Australia go to school without breakfast17 and the pandemic had exacerbated this issue.

We made deliveries of food hampers and school pantry items to many of the local high schools. It has provided great relief to the teachers who witness first-hand the impact this crisis is having on affected students and their families.

Funding from NSW Department of Communities and Justice

In 2020 we received $158,203 from The NSW Department of Communities and Justice to fund two youth workers to run programs for students in the local government areas of Blacktown and Baulkham Hills. In March, when all programs had to close due to COVID and in consultation, we pivoted those youth workers to support our emergency relief program in these local government areas until programs were allowed back into schools towards the end of 2020.

Children & Families

Our Village Project building healthy communities

While many programs paused in 2020, we made significant progress in the development and planning of a new initiative; ‘Our Village Project'. This is at the heart of CityCare’s Children and Families Program – with the recognition children need families and families need community. We want to encourage more people to consider opening their homes to children in Out-Of-Home Care and ensure that those who do are well supported within healthy community. Content development, stakeholder collaboration and operational plans were developed in 2020 and we are excited to see the launch of this in Melbourne in 2021.

Global appeal for the Australian bushfire victim relief

The bushfires which started in September 2019 and lasted for four months were a crisis not witnessed before in modern Australian history. An estimated 12 million hectares had been burned, lives had been lost, thousands of homes destroyed, and communities ravaged.

Hillsong Church launched an appeal, and within a few weeks received a total of AUD $1.363 million which was given to trusted organisations working to support devastated communities*. These funds facilitated both short-term emergency relief and long-term rebuilding efforts for the many communities that have been devastated by the fires.

* These funds were distributed through the Hillsong Foundation to allow for taxdeductable receipts

The funds were distributed through the Hillsong Foundation to the following organisations

For more information please read the Hillsong's Global Bushfire Appeal Update on Hillsong Collected.

Organisation Organisation’s use of funds

The Salvation Army18 Supporting those in the immediate aftermath of disaster and long-term recovery and rebuild, ongoing financial aid and emotional relief.

National Fire Services19

Foodbank NSW20

BlazeAid21 Contribution was distributed evenly across the four states most affected by fires including: NSW Rural Fire Service families of deceased firefighters, Queensland Rural Fire Service fund, South Australian Country Fire Service volunteers and Volunteer Firefighter Welfare Fund.

Hillsong’s contribution enabled Foodbank to quickly supply an estimated $1.2 million worth of food and essential supplies to residents of communities in the South Coast of NSW as well as ongoing support to these communities.

Support to rural landowners, helping rebuild fences and other structures that had been damaged or destroyed. $200,000

Total Amount donated

$663,000

$300,000

$200,000

$1,363,000

Providing food relief to the vulnerable

During the pandemic, CityCare focused on providing emergency food relief across the country, sourcing and packing bags of food to be delivered to homes in COVID-safe ways through partners or directly to individuals in the community. A partnership evolved between CityCare and the Gold Coast Convention and Events Centre (GCCEC), Foodbank QLD and the Gold Coast Council Disaster Management Committee.

Through our community network, a food supply chain between 13 welfare agencies and churches were provided with meals every week for five months. This partnership saw an estimated 60,000 meals distributed to individuals and families in the Gold Coast facing crisis and hardship during the year. Through partnerships with local agencies, CityCare and Storehouse distributed food to some of our most vulnerable Gold Coast residents, including women’s refuges.

Our church facilities in Coomera became a CityCare “emergency room” food relief centre. From here we were able to bring food relief to struggling families, many of whom had never found themselves in need of help before. The church Pastoral Care team identified families who were facing food shortages, allowing our team to deliver hampers to their doorsteps. Throughout 2020, our Coomera location had the capacity to pack, store, deliver and act as a distribution centre for agencies around the Gold Coast.

Food relief was provided throughout the pandemic, as well as through the Kilo of Christmas initiative. Christmas 2020 was always going to be hard for many Australians and especially the vulnerable in our communities. Despite being limited to online giving and not being able to meet in person as a church, we were determined to be able to reach more people than ever with our Christmas hampers.

We prepared 7,159 food hampers with enough ingredients in them to make over 40 individual meals plus lots of fun treats that families might not be able to add to the table this year. This enabled us to assist 35% more vulnerable families than we did in 2019.

COVID-19 Food Relief

13,932 353,095

hampers meals

Kilo of Christmas

7,159 hampers (5,294 hampers in 2019) 286,360 639,455meals

Total meals provided in 2020

The Storehouse

Upper Coomera QLD

West Footscray VIC

Partnering to serve the community

During the pandemic, the need from local charities increased significantly. Many were looking to close their doors due to lack of donations coming in as well as increased need. The Storehouse was able to partner with local charities to serve the needs of the local community. Throughout 2020, one of our main charity partners, Fareshare, distributed over 3 million meals to families in need. We were able to play a significant role in this by donating around 20,000 kg of fresh vegetables each month.

According to the Foodbank Hunger Report, demand for food relief has increased as a result of the pandemic. Those who were already food insecure became even more vulnerable, while another 28% experienced food insecurity for the first time.22

The Storehouse is a social enterprise committed to providing goodquality, affordable grocery and fresh food items to people in local communities who may struggle with food insecurity. In 2020, The Storehouse has been a beacon of hope to many individuals and families who have struggled due to COVID-19. The Storehouse exists to reduce food insecurity in local communities, providing practical assistance with no strings attached. As a social enterprise, The Storehouse generates an income, which is then fed back into the community for continued support of vulnerable people. It also has an emergency relief arm which assists people who are in need of emergency food supplies and supports other local charities supporting thousands of other families in need.

John Sparey

Head of Social Enterprise

420,000 kg

of fresh produce donated by The Storehouse to partner organisations.

Working with The Storehouse to rescue food that would otherwise go to landfill and then being able to cook that produce into free, nutritious meals in FareShare’s Abbotsford kitchen shows how working together can help feed more people in need in our communities.

Toni Hetherington Director of Fareshare

We are so grateful for Empower Australia’s partnership with Hillsong’s Storehouse throughout 2020 and beyond. They have been fantastic in the way that they have provided us food, which has gone directly to our 5 Food Relief Centres across Victoria. We've had the privilege of serving our community together in a tangible and impacting way, to make a great difference in our city.

Pastor Neil Smith

CEO of Empower Australia

Supporting Lifeblood

In between jobs

In 2020, we encouraged our church community to support Australian Red Cross Lifeblood through life-giving blood and plasma donations. These are vital and the need for blood is ongoing to treat serious illnesses and accidents. In fact, 31,000 blood donations are needed every week to help meet demand – that’s one every 24 seconds. We look forward to growing awareness of the great work of Lifeblood in the years to come. To learn more please read our blog or contact Lifeblood at www.lifeblood.com.au

Responding to the growing unemployment needs

Many Australians lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic, with the unemployment rate peaking at 7.5% in July 2020.23 As stories were shared of individuals and families who suddenly found themselves without employment and financial security, Hillsong was able to respond to this need through the In Between Jobs ministry. Weekly prayer meetings and support groups were held at each campus to keep up a constant flow of communication and encouragement for those looking for work. Overall, the program was able to support 1,999 people across Australia. Additionally, where needed, we were able to provide food hampers to individuals and families during difficult times.

2020 was a challenging year job hunting especially on the back of a career break due to illness. The church was super supportive. The weekly prayer calls, texts of encouragement were so helpful. Church offering the free course was a standout. Thanks to Jesus and His Church, I secured a new role late in the year.

Dean

Hillsong Night School

New courses to meet community needs

During the pandemic, not only were Australians required to work from home but students across the country had to quickly adapt to learning online. Like other education providers, Hillsong Night School (HNS) had to shift to deliver an online experience to its students. Weekly classes continued to provide a true sense of belonging, even online, as HNS delivered transformational teaching and engaging application sessions. With 20-plus courses on offer each term, over four terms, covering diverse topics including Bible theology, leadership, creative and life streams, we stayed committed to equipping people for life and their purpose.

Not only did HNS adapt to a different learning environment, but it also introduced new courses to meet the community’s needs. As many people were faced with unemployment, HNS responded to offer a free course How to Find the Right Job in or after a Crisis. Several hundred people enrolled in the course from across Australia and beyond, resulting in many success stories. One student said, “Prior to the course, I did not think I could actually secure a job at a big firm and lacked confidence. I followed the interview preparation techniques taught in the class and landed a job with one of Australia’s biggest FMCG firms.”

Another course that has been successful is Financial Peace University. It highlights the intricacies of putting finances in order, helping families and communities to be in a better financial position. A participant who took the course stated, “The course changed my life. I was able to pay off my debts in 14 months and create an emergency fund. During the pandemic, I was made redundant and what I learnt on the course helped me weather the storm.”

2,678 65% 45

enrolments increase in enrolments across 2020 compared to 2019 courses offered across the year