Terrific Tuesdays Shine Light at Miranda

Volunteers from The Tradies help at the Sutherland Shire Community Co-Op, located at Miranda Salvation Army, every Tuesday.

If you walk into Shire Salvos Miranda site on any given Tuesday morning, you’ll probably smell a cake in the oven, hear the booming sound of laughter and definitely be greeted with a smile. Tuesday’s have been dubbed ‘Terrific’ by the team of workers and volunteers – and for a reason.

Shire Salvos is located in southern Sydney, encompassing the Sutherland Shire, nearby Panania and the village of Helensburgh to the south. Its worshipping community gathers at Menai on Sundays, but faith communities meet throughout the week in various locations. Its Miranda site is a hub of services, including The Salvation Army’s Drive For Life, Moneycare, OASIS Reconnect and Alcohol and Other Drugs counsellors. It also houses the Sutherland Shire Community Co-Op, a partnership between a number of local charities that provide food relief for individuals and families in need.

On Tuesdays the Co-Op is in full swing, with an army of volunteers – many from local club, The Tradies, arriving at 9:30am for the morning shift. Someone picks the music genre (“It’s 70s this week,” Vicki sings out as she walks in,) and the music starts pumping. Many hands make light work as boxes and boxes of donated fruit and veggies are brought into the co-op from the cool-room. Gloves are snapped on and the team goes to work sorting and packing large food boxes for distribution to each participating charity. That food is then allocated to hundreds of local individuals and families in need at locations right across the Sutherland Shire.

“We formed the co-op so that the charities involved could work together to fight food insecurity and poverty in the Sutherland Shire,” says Shire Salvos Team Leader Mark Soper. “Rather than each of us having to source donated food for distribution, we centralised that all here at the Shire Salvos Miranda site. You don’t have every charity working hard on the same job, which then frees up time and resources for services to assist more people.”

But such an undertaking needs hands and feet to make it happen. Local club, The Tradies, stepped up and committed its staff for the task. “We love helping people out. As a community organisation, that’s one of our values,” says General Manager Jason McMaster. “We’re here trying to make a difference for people who need it.” Tradies employees donate more than 20 hours per week to community causes, with the Sutherland Shire Community Co-Op a grateful recipient of the donated time.

Whilst the morning shift prepares the boxes and boxes of fresh produce and grocery items for the participating charities, the smell of freshly baking cake or cookies is wafting into the co-op from the adjoining kitchen. Morning tea and a cuppa follows, with the Tradies volunteers mingling with Salvation Army personnel and volunteers to chat about life. “Many of the Tuesday volunteers have done years of service together,” says Miranda Salvation Army Team Leader, Lieut-Colonel David Godkin, who was recently appointed to the Shire Salvos team. “I’m thrilled that they have welcomed me so warmly into their family. They have patiently taught me the ‘ropes’ about how the distribution works.”

In return, David and fellow Salvos are about to share with the volunteers just how their volunteering makes a difference to people’s lives. “We have a worker here on Tuesday, Lauren, and sometimes she’ll turn the music down and sing out, ‘Ok, Story Time!’ and share with the crew about a particular family or individual that we have supported with food and other assistance,” says David. “Of course, names and identifying details are not shared, just the essence of the issues that the person was struggling with, and how The Salvation Army is able to journey with people through the regular provision of food, which then leads to other supports which can include Moneycare financial counselling, drug or alcohol counselling, assistance with housing matters, and of course just being a listening ear for people who are lonely. Poverty is incredibly isolating.”

Terrific Tuesdays don’t end after morning tea though. When the Tradies volunteers depart, the Salvo workers and volunteers continue on, re-setting the front hall for community outreach. Afternoon shift volunteers arrive, some from the Tradies, some from the community, and after an ‘open-invitation’ lunch where those who are there gather to eat and chat in the informal lounge area, the co-op room becomes abuzz once again. This time, volunteers work to pack 50 individual fresh-food hampers and 50 individual grocery hampers. At the same time, representatives from each participating co-op charity arrive and collect their weekly food allocation to distribute throughout the week at their various community meals or outreach events. There is a hive of activity, laughing, chatting and the occasional shared prayer. “These are people who journey together just on one-day-per week,” says David. “Some of them just arrive to pick up food on that one day per week, a simple and oftentimes short engagement. Yet solid relationships have formed – friendships and supportive camaraderie. You can see God at work.”

At 5pm, the doors to the centre are thrown open and the day culminates with a community meal supplied by partner charity One Meal, where members of the community can also take home hamper bags and other donated food and goods.

“Tuesday is a long, tiring day,” says David.” But I go home joyfully exhausted. It really is terrific!”