TOWNHALLpeople

HUMBLE BREW, HUMBLE CREW, NOT SO HUMBLE PLANS | Coffee. Liquid Gold. It’s a humble brew that does so much in helping us function on the daily. But, when ordered from one of For Change Co.’s social enterprise locations, it’s so much more than a caffeine hit – it’s an opportunity for a better life for young people.

Recently, Co-Founders Levi Fernandez and Tenille Gilbert received an exciting proposal, albeit a huge challenge. Not content with resting on their laurels (and by that we mean successfully running several hospitality social enterprises that make some of the best coffee in the city AND continue to make a true difference to the lives of Melbourne’s youth), these incredibly ambitious Co-Founders jumped at the chance to increase their impact with a new venture that would involve launching an $80k crowdfunding campaign and embarking on yet another unique cafe build.

The result? For Change Co. and its community managed to raise an astounding $100k in a matter of days, which means they’ll be opening a new social enterprise in Middle Park, on Boon Wurrung Country. And in true Melbourne style, it’s located in a heritage-listed tram stop.

How did they do it? And what's next? Well you'll just have to read on, to find out: https://www.townhallpeople.com/for-change-co-humble-brew-humble-crew-not-so-humble-plans/

It's been exactly a month since Plastic Free July ended. So, how has the journey been for you, since? How do we keep our sights set on sustainability; how do we keep the passion for people and planet consistent beyond the calendar event? Well, in the words of the fiercely motivated Montana Lower “you don’t have to be an expert to make a difference, you just need the courage to show up”.

Redefining motherhood and sustainability, Montana Lower is an environmental engineer, a mum to beautiful daughter Blue, a conscious climate activist and a model. She’s the founder of ethical skincare brand Bluem, and the passionate pioneer beyond the ARTivism movement, Murals for Change.

Ambitious yet humble, and endlessly generous with her time, we caught up with Montana to hear about the journey so far, her pursuit to cultivate community and create change, and her words of wisdom for anyone who may be starting their journey towards sustainability, or just looking for a little inspiration along the way…

Hit the link below for the full read! 🌻

https://www.townhallpeople.com/musings-with-montana-making-every-day-a-celebration-of-people-and-planet/

Grape news! The legends behind clean drinking water charity Op Blue have just launched a new venture, Willow & Goose, offering a stunning 2021 Pinot range. All handmade in small batches in Adelaide Hills, this tipple is high quality, vegan friendly and comes with a great cause:

As part of their campaign, a portion of all profits will be donated to Op Blue, funding global clean water projects to help those without access to safe drinking water. We’ll drink to that! 🍷

To find out more about Op Blue and their life-changing projects across various countries, visit: https://www.townhallpeople.com/operation-blue-adelaide/

Did you know that Australian households use over 3.3billion single-use plastic bags annually? So grim.

Aiming to change the game (and save our Earth at the same time) is TOMbag. A Sydney-based small business with big plans, Reusable Garbage Bags • TOMbag has created the world’s first reusable garbage bag that’s sustainable and that looks real sleek!

Made from certified recycled plastic bottles, these make a simple yet impactful kitchen swap, and for every sale, TOMbags plants a tree 🌱

TOMbag was created by Co-Founder Sasha while she was pregnant with her daughter Lyla - an idea founded during a mission to ditch as much single-use plastic from her household.

For the full read visit: https://www.townhallpeople.com/tombag-sydney/

“We never know the worth of water til the well is dry”

Have you heard of Op Blue? Based out of Lobethal, South Australia, the legends of this innovative charity work with local teams on the ground to bring clean drinking water to those who need it most. With distribution running smooth in Kenya, the team is reaching slums in areas with no access to drinking water, and providing innovative filter systems.

Keen to read more? To donate? To join the cause? Visit: https://www.townhallpeople.com/operation-blue-adelaide/

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What did you do to honour World Environment Day over the weekend?

We’ve been speaking with some super inspiring eco-warriors recently and can’t wait to share their stories with you soon. Can you guess who they are? 🌻

What’s better than getting local, sustainable, fresh + nutritious fruit, veg and herbs delivered straight to your door every month? ⁠
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Answer: knowing that with your purchase, 100% of the profits go to feeding hungry people and families across Victoria.⁠
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This is just one of Food For Change’s many life-changing initiatives. We recently got a tour of the farm from Founder Matt Donovan and learnt just how much of an impact this humble Melbourne farm makes. For the full read, visit: https://www.townhallpeople.com/food-for-thought-and-food-for-change/

Ok friends, we’re halfway through National Reconciliation Week - let’s take a moment to recap what it’s all about, and what you can do as a friend, ally or community in the movement towards braver, more impactful action for the remainder of this week, and beyond.

This year’s theme is “More than a word. Reconciliation takes action.” We all have a role to play when it comes to reconciliation, and in playing our part, we collectively build relationships and communities that value and celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander peoples, histories, cultures and futures.

Keen to find out some simple steps you can take to make an impact? Head to Common Ground Australia - they’ve broken it down with one theme and one action per day, designed to inspire deep reflection and meaningful change. Easy!

This week, we’ll continue to share to our stories, insightful resources and important perspectives from Indigenous peoples and businesses - tag your favourite business, brand and people so we can share their story!

Also, how remarkable is this image of Sean Choolburra, a Girramay - Gugu Yalanji, Gugu Yimidirr Pitta-Pitta / Kalkadoon Man, taken by the incredibly talented Trent White, Dharumbal/Yiman Man, of Trent White Photography? We urge you to check out his other, breathtaking images too.

Don’t you think it’s wild how many plastic plates and bits of packaging go into landfill at festivals and events? Used for a moment while we eat, and left in the Earth for a lifetime. Well not anymore...

Armed with reusable plates, bowls and cutlery, Green My Plate is a sustainable service aimed at eliminating single-use food packaging.

But they’re not just supplying plates and forks. Green My Plate also set-up wash stations to clean their reusable plates on-site, preparing them for reuse whilst counting the number of plates which are being saved from landfill and having friendly chats with attendees about the importance of sustainability.

And on top of the war on single-use disposables, they are declaring a war on food waste also – saving the scraps that come off the plates from landfill by taking them to local composting facilities, where waste is turned into healthy soil to put back into the Earth.

Learn more about this awesome initiative here: https://www.townhallpeople.com/green-my-plate-melbourne/

Ever wonder what happens to the bottles of shampoo/conditioner/moisturiser that you don’t completely use during your hotel stay? A lot of them end up in landfill... unless Every Little Bit Helps gets to them first!

ELBH is committed to collecting hotel toiletries, inflight amenity kits, cosmetic samples and giving them to people in need. What a concept!

Got some of these in your bathroom’s bottom drawer that’s only collecting dust? To find out where you can send them, to someone who really needs it, visit: https://www.townhallpeople.com/every-little-bit-helps/

Ok anyone else feeling like winter arrived very abruptly this year? (Or maybe it’s just us in Melbourne 🥶).

We’re elevating our wintery evenings with candles from The Karma Collective

Why? Because 50% of their profits go towards helping animals in need. We stay cosy, and animals stay cared for. Win-win!

Check out The Karma Collective in the Townhall directory: https://www.townhallpeople.com/the-karma-collective-aus/

One in ten Australians seek food relief annually and a quarter of them are turned away. But these numbers are slowly moving in the right direction, as more Australians are starting to receive the nourishment they need, thanks to a humble Melbourne-based food relief charity making a big impact across the country. Enter: Food For Change.

Founded by Matt Donovan in 2016 on the belief that nobody in Australia should go hungry, Food For Change grows and rescues food to support the 2500+ food relief organisations around the country feeding hungry Australians.

As we wandered through the lush Food For Change farm in Clayton South which opened in early Feb 2017, Matt reflected on where his affinity with food began...

Read the full feature here: https://www.townhallpeople.com/food-for-thought-and-food-for-change/ 🌱