It is an all too common occurrence. It’s July, and you realise you haven’t seen your best friend since February. You both reach for diaries to find a time to get together but between kids’ sport, work trips, holidays and a seemingly endless stream of birthday celebrations, you both realise that the first weekend you both have free isn’t until late October. Yep, October.

For a group of friends in Melbourne, busy lives were getting in the way of regularly getting together. One of the friends, Lisa Fox, came up with an idea. Why didn’t they all collectively get together and volunteer, thereby not only spending regular quality time together but also doing something meaningful as a group of friends. “Once you become a mum, you can become less connected with your friends and other adults on a daily basis”, says Lisa.

“I wanted to stay connected with my friends but also to use our time to give back to others”.

After some research, Lisa discovered Fareshare, an organisation which rescues food that would otherwise go to waste, and cooks it into nutritious meals for people in need. To help prepare the meals, Fareshare operates a volunteer program in their commercial kitchens whereby teams of volunteers help with basic food preparation and kitchen tasks.

“As a group of friends, we all wanted to give something back without ‘writing a cheque’. We wanted to roll up sleeves and get our hands dirty which also means we get to spend regular, quality time together”.

The group started off with a small number of friends but has now grown to twenty as friends of friends have been enveloped into the fold.

“We spend 3-4 hours around the kitchen tables preparing food so as you can imagine, there is a fair bit of chatting and laughter going on!” says Lisa.

“With the group growing, we have got to make new friends from different circles and have all grown to know each other even better than before. It is such a warm environment and a great vibe when we get together and definitely something which we all value in our lives”.

“By giving our time, we all feel happier and more connected. The links between giving and happiness are not just a theory but also scientifically proven. We all find volunteering is just great for our general wellbeing. When we finish a shift, we all get together for a drink and a catch up, everyone goes home feeling content”.

The friends have been so inspired by the sense of happiness and wellbeing that their volunteering gives them that they have taken things a step further and created a fundraiser to help raise money for Fareshare. Recently, they held the inaugural Give & Glow fundraiser which was based on the sense of happiness that volunteering gives them as a group, the idea that ‘by giving, we glow’.

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