“West Welcome Wagon is a non-profit volunteer-run organisation committed to providing material aid donations and assistance to our asylum seeker neighbours.

Our volunteers collect, pack and deliver donated material aid such as kitchen items, linen, furniture, white goods, children’s items and food hampers to asylum seekers in Melbourne’s West. We support more than 500 asylum seeker households from 20 countries, most of whom hold Bridging Visas with limited work rights and an income below that of the lowest Centrelink payment.
Our current model is not sustainable. More than 15 Volunteer coordinators currently open their homes to accept, clean and sort donated goods. They spend weekends preparing packages for delivery. Sadly, we regularly turn down generous donations simply because we cannot fit items in our coordinators’ homes. We also cannot accept the helping hands offered by our many willing volunteers due to limited space and concerns working in our cramped storage spaces. We need to reach more people who urgently need our help. With the Gellibrand grant, we will be able to fitout a new home for West Welcome Wagon allowing us to not only continue to accept the current number of donations we receive but to increase the number, allowing us to help more of our newly arrived neighbours. Let’s make them feel welcome! Please note that WWW is not aligned with any political or religious organisations. We do not receive ongoing government funding. Our costs are covered by donations and applicable grants. “I really touched by what the Australian people like you and family doing for us. This is exemplary of the generosity of a great community like West Welcome Wagon. Thank you so much!” - Local Asylum Seeker "WWW fosters an important sense of community spirit in that it provides ways of linking local families to those who are newly arrived." Mia McGregor – Founder”