Carevan is now the very lucky recipient of a regular supply of freshly laid eggs, courtesy of some of the funkiest named chickens in the neighbourhood. đ
These fine feathered friends; Edna, Cassie, Pearl, Avery, Ginger, Daphne, Callie, Olive, Honey and Irene, have grown from little chicks to egg-laying beauties, and are now honorary volunteers for Carevan. đ„
The girls will be providing freshly laid âeggynessâ direct to Norwestâs Carevan cooking program for meal preparation and we are EGGstatic to have them in the hen house đ„
We were EGGcited to meet with the chookâs custodians; Brenda, Merryn, Piper and Mackenzie on Tuesday evening, along with the âspokes-chookâ Callie, a spectacular spotty feathered beauty, who came along in a special carry pack! đŁ
AND In another first for Carevan, Sophie and Linh, two lovely local hairdressers, have offered us their skillset and time to assist any of our guests who would like to trim their human feathers. đ„ This lovely offer was taken up by 6 or so very happy guests at the first event and will be a regular gig at Carevan’s evenings out. We are so grateful for the ladiesâ generous gift of community care. đ
So very many good eggs in the community, who reach out each and every week, to help Carevan and those we serve in some way. We thank you ALL for the thought, hard work, innovation, kindness and generosity of spirit and deed… you ALL help us keep Carevan sunny side up. đ
Lalor Park Library; Cnr. Freeman Street and Northcott Road, Lalor Park
Carevan Blacktown was founded in 2011 and is an affiliate of The Carevan Foundation formed By Dr John Brabant in Albury many years earlier. Members of the Blacktown local area, who were friends of Dr Brabant, saw a need for a similar service in the local area and established Carevan Blacktown.
Carevan Blacktown is a smaller entity and our weekly meal service is the focal point of our efforts, but we are no less dedicated to the objective to serve those less fortunate than ourselves. Like the Foundation, we aim to promote and put into practice the mission ââŠto create a sense of identity, a sense of belonging and a sense of achievement. ⊠focused on changing âusâ and âthemâ to become âweâŠâ.
Carevan serves those battling hardship and disadvantage of all kind; homelessness, financial hardship, isolation and loneliness principal among these. We strive to provide a meal of substance for the body, while meeting the bigger objective of social inclusion across all demographics and all circumstance.
Each week Carevan provides a meal service in Lalor Park Community hall. Run by a team of dedicated and diligent volunteers, we create a warm, welcoming and non-judgemental setting. The community are able to come together to share a meal and some time, to connect with each other and with a community that cares for them.
Carevan collects and supplies fruit and vegetables from local businesses, donated to supplement the weekly meal service. We provide take away meals to accommodate families and individuals into the week, extras that might otherwise not be affordable or accessible.
Carevan works in collaboration with all our supporters, who donate time, food, money, items of care and support, delivering these goods each week to those most in need.
Our business supporters include The Masonic Club Blacktown, Roseville and Chatswood Rotary Club and the Richmond Rotary Club, Dearest Lips, Genworth Financial, Daily Fresh and of course the Norwest and Tyndale Christian Schools who make and store the meals we serve each week.
We were lucky enough to be recipients of the Commonwealth Bankâs âCommBank Staff Foundation Community Grantâ in 2020 and the Federal Office of Greenwayâs community grant 2018, which enabled the purchase of a second hand van in early 2019 to replace the old and iconic van, in which the Carevan had begun in Blacktown.
And of course, the backbone of our work is the countless individuals who reach out to Carevan to donate all manner of contributions. Without our amazing community support, we would truly just be a van!
Carevan conducts blanket and clothing appeals, supply hygiene and general home care products and are the conduit for a generous community donating items to those in need, on the communityâs behalf.
Carevan are growing year by year and our need for community support does not diminish with this growth. We are in desperate need of a warehouse for example, in which to store the items delivered and donated to us, with which to serve the community with.
We are in constant weekly need of consumables such as plates, takeaway containers, disposable cutlery, serving foil trays, pantry items and long-life milk and custard just to name a few!
We are enormously grateful to all those who support our endeavours and follow our work. We would love you to follow us on Facebook, share our postings and join with us in making life a little easier for those less fortunate than ourselves.
And weâd especially love to hear from you if you have a storage solution for us  đ
Carevan are blessed with HUMONGOUS community support and generosity, which drives everything we do and enables us to fulfil our mission to assist those among us most in need of care and a helping hand. Carevan may extend the hand, but what we offer comes directly from the homes and businesses of the community in which we operate, an extraodinary community of great kindness.
This support may be through donated pantry items to add to bare shelves, to supplement work and school lunch boxes or to add to the meal table through the week. Or it may simply be the replenishment of body and soul, through a shared donated meal, at a table of friends and community, rather than a meal at home alone. The shared experience lessening the burden and a laugh together, helping to erase the worries, just a little… and in a warm environment filled with the sound of voices.
Whatever is needed, Carevan only has to ask and we are gifted with extraordinary kindness. This year’s Winter blanket appeal resulted in busy hands and hearts getting to work to donate knitted beanies and scarves, warm jumpers and jackets, socks and gloves, blankets and throws, sleeping bags and clothing… We receive items each week throughout winter, to distribute to those who are most in need of this added warmth and comfort and cannot begin to thank you all enough …
Time and again we are struck by the communities genuine care and compassion for the next-door neighbour doing it tough or the unknown members of the community most affected by social disadvantage, financial hardship and loneliness. This is never more evident than in the cold months when the prospect of not having a warm meal, clothing or shelter to retreat to, is hard to imagine enduring and this community works very hard to remedy the gaps in meeting these basic human needs and goes a long way to seeing that where help is possible to deliver, it is.
Community Kindness and Generosity.. the fuel that keeps Carevan’s wheels turning
Moving right along with the times and in keeping with the COVID restrictions, Carevan Blacktown has (well, actually one of our more techno-savvy committee members has) set up our training sessions via the magic of a ZOOM training presentation.
Using the new technology, to accommodate the COVID restrictions, and some good “old fashioned” experience from our CEO and team members,  Carevan is really pleased to be able to conduct training sessions online via ZOOM, keeping our teams supported by bolstering numbers and encouraging and engaging new members into the Carevan Family
We have received extraordinary interest since we returned to the streets ( in the fabulous community hall) some 4 weeks ago, and this has only increased since advertising a new date for training… truly amazing and so heartwarming to see that the community is looking out for each other in this time of stress, duress and uncertainty.
Carevan is simply a conduit between the most generous of communities ( OURS!)  and its most vulnerable and disadvantaged members, in need of a helping hand … and we simply cannot do without such amazing support.
Our first  ZOOM training session was a great success and we will continue online into the future, as this forum brings with it many positives and possibilities, not the least of which is to enable the sessions to be run more frequently.
Online meetings, webinars and chats, make most things doable, as we have found with working from home and connecting to family and friends in more lateral and technical ways, during this extraordinary year. More importantly, it has proven to be a successful way to stay connected and continue on with life, together … and it has taught a few old Luddites a thing or two …  silver linings
Our wonderful Facebook team will publish these sessions as they are approaching and everyone and anyone is welcome to join in.. just grab a cuppa,  find a computer and follow the link… and share with those you think may be interested in joining in
Carevan Blacktown is back in action and we couldn’t be happier
Carevan started back after our COVID hiatus, on July 7th. We are now in warm, dry and spacious quarters, inside the Lalor Park Community Hall.
We are catering as always, Â for those in need of a warm meal, fruit and veg and other goodies for the week and most importantly, the renewal of friendships put on hold and connections to the generosity and care of the community
We are adhering to social distancing, checking in on arrival and hand sanitiser galore.
We have had a couple of weeks already of cold and wet winter weather, making us all the more appreciative of our new digs and would like to say huge thanks to Blacktown Council for their support of our return venture.
Everyone is welcome every  Tuesdayevenings at the Lalor Park Community Hall from 7:30 pmÂ
HUGEST thanks to those who have donated already to our Winter Blanket and Sock Appeal. Your kindness and warm generosity are truly appreciated.
We LOVEthe blankets, (please donât spend any more than $25 on a blanket!) warm stuff or just a pair of socks. Preloved blankets are lovely too, but please in good condition⊠just as youâd be happy to receive yourself
Get in touch on our email or my messenger if you would like to donate something warm and we will arrange drop off details or come to you, to collect from verandahs/ porches and driveways so you can stay warm, safe and at home.
Thank YOU, Thirza, Glaiza, Carol (and daughter) Naomi, Buffy, Jaimee ( and her mum) Jan, Anne and Anne-Marie
Lovely to be inside, warm in front of fires, with warm clothing and comfy items to pull on and over us, but tough times for though for those who cannot get warm, who havenât the extra money for heating bills and most especially for those in our community who havenât a roof over their heads.
And so itâs time to run our Winter Blanket and Sock Appeal. Weâd LOVE a blanket, (please donât spend any more than $25 on a blanket!) and a pair of socks. Preloved blankets are lovely too, but please in good condition⊠just as youâd be happy to receive yourself.
Carevan Blacktown are still waiting to be able to restart our meal services, it is isnât far, but it isnât yet so, in the meantime, our great friends at Blanket Patrol Western Sydney will distribute blankets and donations during their rounds of the local parks and places where those in need of this your fluffy and warming kindness can receive it.
Let us know if you would like to donate something warm and we will come to you, to collect from verandahs/ porches and driveways so you can stay warm, safe, and at home.
If youâd love to donate but are keen to stay away from the shopping centres, you can donate to Carevan Blacktown and weâll grab something on your behalf, just get in touch with us (here on Facebook/ messenger on our email/website as below) and weâll help you to help us keep someone warm this winter season. (please donât donate via Paypal.. weâre not connected … but you can donate via our website if youâre keen on this option)
Thank you, generous souls one and all ⊠from the bottom our hearts to our warm toes
Carevan, like the world, is on pause in this challenging year, but there are still some little wheels turning and we have found some new friends and support along the way.
We would like to send out a HUGE warm Virtual HUG đ of thanks to the Plate-it-Forward crew at Columbo Social Enmore, who have been making meals for Carevan, and many other programs like us, to help care for those at disadvantage and to keep fridges stocked with meals while we all wait…
AND to đ Harvey Norman Blacktownđ who have generously donated a chest Freezer to Carevan to help us stock these wonderful gifts of care until we’re able to hand them out in turn đ
Thank you also to the kind souls, who have reached out to Carevan over the past weeks, to offer help during this tough time. Your generosity and kindness, especially in the face of your đ own challenges, is the fuel that keeps us going in good times and the less than good…
The following quote is taken from the Plate-it-Forward website, so you’ll see why we love them âŁïž
âFood is designed to bring people together, to share stories, to check in on one another, and to celebrate being the social creatures we are.â
Meanwhile, stay well and looking forward to meeting up again as soon as weâre able to share a story and check-in⊠đ
And THANKS Plate-it-Forward and Harvey Norman Blacktown đđđ
Carevan Blacktown regret to advise we
have now suspended our Tuesday
evening meal services until further notice,
in accordance with current Coronavirus directives and restrictions
Please reach out to us via Facebook, this webpage,
or via our email address and if we are able, we will
endeavour to assist you with a hamper if you are in need of food.
We will be back as soon as restrictions are lifted.
Follow us on Facebook to watch for our return.
Stay home, stay well and take care of each other.
