About our friends at SisterWorks
The act of giving is demonstrated in many ways. It is not only wrapped up in gifts, it is in the work we do, the donations we make, and the knowledge we share. This is a great time to acknowledge and reflect on the many organisations that work hard to give back to the community and improve the lives of disadvantaged members of our community. One such organisation is SisterWorks, a non-profit social enterprise that supports women of migrant, asylum seeker or refugee backgrounds to develop handmade food or craft products in order to become financially independent and happily settled in Australia.
Supporting women through meaningful work
Women with migrant, asylum seeker and refugee backgrounds are some of the community's most vulnerable and disadvantaged newcomers. They face social isolation, domestic violence, long-term unemployment and are often dependent on government welfare. SisterWorks’ mission is to support these women in taking their first steps towards employment so they can ultimately empower themselves and overcome the barriers they face in seeking meaningful employment.
They firmly believe that "Work empowers women". Therefore, rather than becoming beneficiaries, the women become business partners, and together they develop and sell marketable products, with 50-75% of the profits going to them and the remainder going back into the organisation for reinvestment. Through this approach, SisterWorks believes people can work together to create a better future for Australian society.
How SisterWorks began
SisterWorks evolved from a group founded by Luz Restrepo, a political refugee from Colombia. Luz arrived in Australia in 2010 with her life in tatters and spoke no English. "I felt like a nobody; frightened, isolated and disempowered." She soon discovered that she was not alone. Along with a group of 25 women experiencing similar challenges, she began to make and sell crafts around Melbourne. They understood that to support each other is also to strengthen each other.
SisterWorks Inc. was born in May 2013 when a committee of volunteers joined them with legal, fundraising, marketing and administrative skills to give support and structure to the project. Today, SisterWorks Inc. is a grassroots social enterprise based in Greater Melbourne, and Luz is the Executive Officer and main voice of the organisation.
Ways to support SisterWorks
The organisation thrives on the help and support of others, including individuals and businesses. There are many ways to support an organisation like SisterWorks - through donations to help support its business operations, by volunteering your time, or by purchasing products crafted and made with love by its entrepreneurs.
If you would like to show your support through a monetary donation, go here https://www.sisterworks.org.au/pages/donate.
If you would like to support through volunteering, go here https://sisterworks.org.au/volunteering/.
If you would like to visit their online store, go here https://www.sisterworks.org.au/collections to check out their range of handcrafted products.
Giving back to the community
Supporting an organisation such as SisterWorks is a great way to give back to the community.
Source: SisterWorks https://www.sisterworks.org.au
