By Dongyun Kwon
Anchor Community Care will have a special two-day campaign collaborating with cafes across the Yarra Ranges.
The campaign Cafe Heroes is aimed at celebrating the unique cafe culture in the Yarra Ranges area and recognises that people across the region want young people experiencing hardship and homelessness in the coming winter months to be supported to thrive.
About 15 cafes in the area will participate in the campaign on 13 and 14 June.
Customers at participating cafes will be encouraged by their barista to donate $2 dollars on top of their coffee order to support youth homelessness programs that help young people in their local community to get on a safe and sustainable pathway out of homelessness.
Anchor Community Care’s chief executive officer Heidi Tucker is thrilled to launch the campaign together with the participating cafes.
She said it is a noble way of spreading a great message of hope in our local communities while addressing a very critical issue of young people experiencing homelessness.
“Yarra Ranges does have phenomenal coffee, so it makes a lot of sense to launch this campaign here,” the CEO said.
“From the cafés along the main street of Healesville, right up to Belgrave and Olinda at the top of Mt Dandenong or the bustling Lilydale cafes, people love their coffee in such a beautiful area.”
Your Local Roaster in Lilydale is one of the cafes participating in the campaign.
The owner of the cafe Adam Moon said he joined the campaign because he loves to support all community-driven initiatives.
“We believe every child deserves access to basic needs and someone they can rely on for support,” he said.
“With the increased cost of living and the rental crisis, there’s no better time than to raise money to support a program that will become more and more relied upon.”
Anchor is an out-of-home care service provider in Melbourne’s east and south, operating for close to 50 years, providing a range of community services including Foster Care, Kinship Care, Homelessness Services and Youth Services, supporting people in crisis with stable accommodation and the support they need to lead thriving independent lives.
“We’ve operated in the Yarra Ranges area for a number of decades, and we provide a range of programs and services that help young people who are homeless to go on and lead thriving, independent lives,” Ms Tucker said.
“This campaign is all about connecting with coffee lovers and their sense of doing good in the community.
“We know that people care about supporting young people, and want to offer a simple chance to come together and make a difference.”
