Charity beginnings are an inspiration
‘Tis the season to avoid scammers Residents help shut down drug ring
FROM a simple conversation to a bolt of inspiration in the night – how some of the Gold Coast’s charities were born is many and varied.
The call for nominations for the Harvey Norman Gold Coast Women of the Year awards has unearthed many local gems, with more than 100 nominations for the “Angels Among Us’’ category, celebrating women working to meet a need in the community.
Carly Fradgley, founder of Baby Give Back, is one of them.
Like many of Gold Coast charity founders, she identified a problem and took it upon herself to fix it.
Modelled on St Kilda Mums, the Baby Give Back organisation accepts donated baby goods, from prams to nappies, to help new mums in tough situations.
Working directly with hospitals and case workers, the group puts the call out for specific items and works to get pre-loved gear up to Australian safety standards.
“It started when I wanted to donate my gear but I discovered there wasn’t anything like that here on the Gold Coast,” said Ms Fradgley, a mother of two and a lawyer.
“So I just started recruiting friends and family and working from a spare room,” she said.
“When we started we didn't know too much about the need, but we have discovered there is more than we could have imagined.
“Homelessness, especially for families, is a big problem and rental stress is enormous.
“Purchasing everything for a newborn can be expensive and a lot of families are already struggling. We want to make help these babies get the best start in life.”
The charity and its 200 volunteers have helped more than 1200 babies and children since it was founded in 2016.
Families in need of assistance IT’S not just tinsel, gift wrap, and car park rage that peak at Christmas time – online security experts are warning scams will surge more than 50 per cent this month as cyber criminals target overwhelmed, under-pressure shoppers.
Everything from fake online stores and charity appeals to spoofed parcel delivery notifications will flood Australian range from those escaping domestic violence to those battling illness.
This month the group raised funds to provide a crib for a premature baby who had been in hospital since April.
“Because of the donations from our community, the baby and mum were able to go home for Christmas,” she said.
For fellow nominee Dr Shahina Braganza, a senior emergency medicine doctor, the need for self care among her colleagues was her inspiration.
She established the oneED in 2016, a foundation with a goal to normalise conversations around wellness and struggle so healthcare workers don’t suffer in silence.
“It was a middle-of-thenight idea after I’d spent a few weeks thinking about how we deal with compassion fatigue, burnout and even suicide,” she said. “I had an amazing colleague years ago who gave me permission to look after myself and to feel some of the things we feel.
“I think that is important.
SO I JUST STARTED RECRUITING FRIENDS AND FAMILY AND WORKING FROM A SPARE ROOM.
CARLY FRADGLEY
“Ultimately the more in touch with ourselves we can be, the better we can be with our patients.”
For RizeUp founder Nicolle Edwards, inspiration came in the form of just one woman in need.
“We had a woman who needed to find a place to go because of domestic violence and I put out the call out to friends and family,” Ms Edwards said.
“Everyone was so passionate about it (but) they just don’t really know how to help.”
Ms Edwards and her husband now operate the charity full time, working to support families affected by domestic and family violence. inboxes this month in an attempt to take advantage of distracted shoppers.
There are ways to avoid such attacks and they can be as simple as disconnecting from free wi-fi, calling delivery services directly and paying with your phone.
Australians lost more than $101 million to scams so far this year, and Australian Competition and Consumer Commission deputy chair Delia Rickard said many more would arrive before the big day next week.
Fake online stores or online ads for items that didn’t exist cost Aussie shoppers almost $3 million this year, she said, while delivery scams enticing users to click on an email link had claimed $31,000. POLICE have arrested a St George man in southwest Queensland they allege “tried to assume the role of an ice dealer for the town” after other drug traffickers were taken down.
Officers raided five properties in the operation codenamed Papa Acclaim this week and 12 people were arrested on 44 charges.
It’s the latest police sting to hit the small town which has been battling ice dealers for the past year. Officers seized ice, cannabis and drug utensils.
Police will allege a St George man, 49, tried to assume the role of an ice dealer for the town in the aftermath of the closure of another police operation last year.
Nine residents were charged with trafficking in ice.
The St George man has been charged with 28 offences.
Detective Acting Superintendent Paul Hart said the success of the operation was largely due to information provided by the community.
“Residents continue to show outstanding resilience and determination to keep their town drug-free,” he said.