Having spent a large chunk of 2020 at home now’s the time many are doing clean-outs and clean-ups! But before donating those goods, imagine if you knew exactly what charities were in need of… not just what you think they need! It could mean a pair of steel-capped boots for someone to pick up work or even a second-hand microwave for someone unable to cook.
These were the thoughts Juliette Wright had back in 2008, when her second child, Hudson, put on a lot of weight really fast at only six weeks old. Juliette had been inundated with many beautiful clothes for her size 000 newborn, but when he jumped forward to size 0 in a matter of two weeks, Juliette was left with bags of untouched and good quality baby clothes.
After calling most charities from Burpengary to Spring Hill, and having none take up her offer of the baby clothes, instead, Juliette asked the charities what they actually needed. The common answer was always essential items – like women’s sanitary products, white goods and more. That was the moment Juliette realised it wasn’t about overloading charities with items, but instead recognising the specific needs they had to help pull their clients out of poverty.
And that’s how GIVIT was born – an online platform where every charity in Australia could obtain exactly what they needed through the simple act of giving, and to also give them a platform to communicate those needs.
It wasn’t long before Juliette had completed the GIVIT website and recruited close to 15 charities to request items. Fast forward a few weeks and more than 80 charities began requesting goods. This was the starting point of GIVIT – as it quickly became a national network, connecting thousands of Australians wanting to support hundreds of charities.
Nowadays, GIVIT is close to two million donations since the very beginning and are also in partnership with QLD, ACT, VIC and NSW governments to support other Australians who are impoverished or have been affected by a natural disaster. Watch the above video for more about GIVIT and Juliette.
And, if you too have done a clean-up during isolation, remember, GIVIT is the smart way to give. Check out their website here… what Juliette has done is just amazing… no wonder she was Australia’s Local Hero in 2015!
