WARM: Winter Accommodation Resource Movement

We still have two more volunteer training sessions coming up:

📍 Wednesday 27 May — 7:00pm to 9:00pm📍 Saturday 6 June — 10:00am to 12:00pm

If you would like to volunteer and be part of an amazing team supporting the Winter Shelter this season, there is still time to join us and attend one of our upcoming sessions.

Please apply by following the Seek link on the flyer below

Tonight we held our second volunteer training session for the WARM Winter Shelter, with the amazing teams from Hands Hearts Hope and WARM coming together once again to help prepare for the upcoming shelter season.
We are incredibly proud and grateful to have HHH standing alongside WARM this year, providing training and volunteers to help us support some of our community’s most vulnerable people during the colder months.

It’s been wonderful to see so many caring people stepping forward wanting to be part of something meaningful and community-driven. The compassion, kindness, and commitment shown by everyone attending the training sessions has been truly heartwarming.

Not long now until launch day.

We still have two more volunteer training sessions coming up:

📍 Wednesday 27 May — 7:00pm to 9:00pm📍 Saturday 6 June — 10:00am to 12:00pm

If you would like to volunteer and be part of an amazing team supporting the Winter Shelter this season, there is still time to join us and attend one of our upcoming sessions.

Please apply by following the Seek link on the flyer below

Together, community can make a difference. ❤️

Hands HeartsHope would like to say huge heartfelt thank you to our amazing friend Laura, Co-Founder and Director of Kindly, for the incredible donation of brand new pillows for the guests attending the WARM Winter Shelter this winter.
Also a huge thank you from the team at WARM ❤️

Your kindness and generosity will help bring comfort, warmth, and dignity to people doing it tough during the colder months, and we are so incredibly grateful for your support.

We are truly honoured to be standing alongside such an amazing organisation that genuinely cares about the community and the wellbeing of others.

Partnerships like this remind us that when community organisations come together with compassion and kindness, we really can make a difference in the lives of people who need support the most.

Thank you again Laura and the Kindly team for your beautiful support. ❤️

Saturday saw the first volunteer training session for the WARM Winter Shelter held at St Peter’s Church, and what an incredible day it was. ❤️ Thank you to Hands Hearts Hope for partnering with us to provide volunteers and training.

It was amazing to see so many compassionate people coming together with one shared goal — to help create a safe, warm, and welcoming space for those doing it tough this winter.

As we move closer to opening the shelter doors, the excitement is definitely building. After months of planning, meetings, organising donations, recruiting volunteers, and working behind the scenes, it’s starting to feel very real.

Over the coming 12 weeks of winter, this shelter will provide warmth, meals, support, kindness, and dignity to people who need it most — and none of it would be possible without our incredible volunteers and the organisations standing alongside one another to make it happen.

A huge thank you to everyone who attended the training session and to all those working tirelessly behind the scenes to bring this project together. ❤️

A very special thank you as well to Sean and Mandy for generously giving their time to come along and deliver training around safety, communication, and de-escalation techniques. Your knowledge, support, and willingness to share your experience was truly appreciated by everyone in the room.

And an extra big thank you to Noni and Lena for the absolutely amazing food that kept everyone going throughout the day. It was so appreciated and added such a warm and welcoming touch to the training session. ❤️

We are still looking for compassionate volunteers to join the team for the upcoming winter shelter program.

If you are someone who would like to give back to the community, whether it’s helping with meals, guest support, driving, overnight support, setup, pack down, or simply offering kindness and conversation — we would love to hear from you.

https://www.volunteer.com.au/volunteering/239891/Volunteer-with-WARM-wintershelter

Please reach out and join us in making a difference this winter.

Thinking of volunteering? Please join us! Sign up below 👇🏼

https://www.volunteer.com.au/volunteering/239891/Volunteer-with-WARM-Winter-Shelter-2026?fbclid=IwZnRzaARLtOpleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEeqIM7LR3aTaoyB5eZ2rw5QSzWapgw9JsZcAvgI2a0VKy3T1EaVhRwd3xXxnw_aem__P-YhP7lpIXvbmOdc6Gfkw

www.volunteer.com.au

Thanks to Rotary Club of Preston Melbourne and Bunnings Warehouse Australia supporting our guests this winter. Gratitude to Gerry Terati Lyons and & McIlvenna ♥️🙌🏼

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17LKoFkyQE/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Kindness goes a long way. Thanks Rotary Club of Preston Melbourne and Bunnings Warehouse Australia Preston for your generosity of support. Gerry Terati Lyons you rock brother! Check comments 👇🏽

📣📣 VOLUNTEER with WARM Winter Shelter 2026 📣📣

Are you compassionate and community-minded?
Can spare a few hours?
Come join the team of WARM volunteers for our Winter Shelter program, operating from 1 June through to 30 August.

Shelters operating in
🌟THORNBURY 🌟PRESTON
🌟BUNDOORA 🌟HEIDELBERG

APPLY 👇

https://www.volunteer.com.au/volunteering/239891/Volunteer-with-WARM-Winter-Shelter-2026

This is an opportunity to be part of something truly meaningful — providing a safe, warm, and respectful space for people experiencing homelessness during the coldest months of the year.

The shelter will operate seven days a week. There is no expectation to volunteer every day — whether you can offer one shift a week or more, your time will make a real difference.

🛌 Volunteer Roles Available

🏡 Meal Support Volunteers
– assisting with food preparation, serving meals, and maintaining a clean and safe kitchen environment

🏡 Guest Support Volunteers (Evening Intake)
– welcoming guests, assisting with check-in, and creating a respectful and supportive atmosphere

🏡 Overnight Support Volunteers
– maintaining a calm and safe environment overnight as part of a team

🏡 Cleaning & Reset Volunteers
– preparing the space each day to ensure it is clean, safe, and ready for the next evening

🏡Transport Driver Volunteers
– assisting with the safe transport of guests to and from the shelter

All roles are team-based, with volunteers supported by others throughout each shift.

💛 About YOU

As a volunteer, you will be helping to create a space where people feel safe, respected, and cared for. Whether you are preparing meals, welcoming guests, or working behind the scenes, every role plays a vital part in supporting those doing it tough.

YOU are -
🤩 Kind, respectful, and community-minded
🤩 Reliable and able to commit to agreed shifts
🤩Comfortable working as part of a team
🤩Willing to support people from diverse backgrounds

✅ Requirements
👉Volunteer induction (provided)
👉Working with Children Check
👉Reliable transport to and from the shelter

🌟 What You’ll Gain
🙌🏼The opportunity to make a real difference in your community
🙌🏼Experience working in a supportive, grassroots environment
🙌🏼 Connection with like-minded volunteers
🙌🏼A certificate of participation at the conclusion of the winter shelter program

APPLY 👇

https://www.volunteer.com.au/volunteering/239891/Volunteer-with-WARM-Winter-Shelter-2026

www.volunteer.com.au

On Monday we had the opportunity to visit the Melbourne branch of the Chip Packet Project at the Roseanne Fire Station, representing WARM – Winter Accommodation Resource Movement.

What an incredible, grassroots initiative.

We were warmly welcomed by the team, who generously took the time to show us exactly how discarded chip packets are transformed into thermal blankets — turning what would otherwise be waste into something that can genuinely make a difference in someone’s life.

To see firsthand how something so simple can provide warmth, dignity, and care to those doing it tough was truly inspiring.

We were also grateful to receive a sample blanket to take back and share with our wider WARM team as we continue planning for our upcoming winter shelter.

At WARM, we are always looking for meaningful, practical ways to support our guests, and this is something we see real value in — not just for the warmth it provides, but for the community connection behind it.

We look forward to building a partnership with the Chip Packet Project Melbourne and exploring how these blankets can be incorporated into both our winter shelter program and broader outreach efforts.

Because sometimes, the smallest things — even a chip packet — can become something powerful when a community comes together.

🌏 A Little Story – The Heart Behind the Chip Packet Project

The Chip Packet Project began in New Zealand — not as a large organisation, but as a simple idea driven by compassion.

It started with people recognising two things:
• how much waste we produce every day
• and how many people are out there without something as basic as warmth

Someone looked at a chip packet — that shiny inner lining — and saw potential.

Instead of rubbish, they saw a resource.

From there, communities came together. Volunteers began collecting, washing, cutting, and fusing packets into sheets, and those sheets became blankets. Blankets that reflect body heat. Blankets that could help someone get through a cold night.

What started as a small, local effort quickly grew. Schools, community groups, and everyday people got involved. It became more than just making blankets — it became about connection, purpose, and showing people that they are not forgotten.

Now, that same spirit has reached Melbourne.

Here, the Chip Packet Project continues that mission — bringing people together to turn waste into something meaningful, something practical, and something filled with care.

We are incredibly honoured to stand beside this project.

Today, committee members from WARM (Winter Accommodation Resource Movement) attended the Walk a Mile in Her Shoes exhibition held at Mill Park Library in Whittlesea.

As part of a team, we are currently working towards establishing a winter shelter in Bundoora and the northern suburbs, scheduled to open on the 1st of June and operate through to the end of August for the winter period.

Those in attendance from our committee included Adele, Chris, Louise, Brendon and myself (Lena).

It was great to connect with local councillors and the team members behind the exhibition, including Lucas and the team from the Council to Homeless Persons and guest speakers on the panel.

The Walk a Mile in Her Shoes exhibition highlights the realities of gender-based violence and the impact it has on women’s lives — including the very real pathway it creates into homelessness for so many.

Events like this are so important. They bring awareness, spark conversations, and strengthen the connections between services and community, all working towards better outcomes for those doing it tough.

Proud to stand alongside so many passionate people committed to making a difference.

As we prepare to open our winter shelter, we welcome any support from the community — whether it be through volunteering, donations, or simply helping us spread the word. ❤️