Every year the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre hosts the ASRC Telethon on World Refugee Day to help empower and support those seeking asylum in Australia. It’s the not-for-profit’s largest annual fundraising event, raising $1.1 million IN 2019.
Last Saturday, June 20, the ASRC hosted its 2020 online telethon to help raise vital funds. The live fundraising appeal was held from 7am to 10pm at the ASRC’s ‘Home of Hope’ in Footscray. There was an auction of items and an IKEA Raffle.
The ASRC 2020 Telethon, on World Refugee Day, raised $1,312,338 to support people seeking asylum
The event was livestreamed on Facebook, with numerous celebrities and media personalities coming together to support the ASRC. Full details, highlights and stories can be viewed on the ASRC FACEBOOK PAGE.
This is an event that celebrates the enormous human spirit required by refugees as they show strength and resilience waiting to be given a fresh start in their new homeland. It’s not a one-way street as we recognise their contributions to our communities and the richness and diversity they bring to Australia’s cultural identity.
Thousands of people seeking asylum rely on the ASRC to help keep them safe this winter. They are without an income nor have access to safety nets like Centrelink and Medicare. It’s just not possible to provide their families with the basics they need to survive; essentials like food, medicines, healthcare, safe housing. As a result, they are at serious risk of hunger, homelessness and destitution, this current season is more than a COVID-19 crisis for the 6,000 vulnerable people supported by the ASRC each year.
All funds raised go to the ASRC to assist people seeking asylum with the basics like food, housing and healthcare as well as providing legal support, education and pathways to employment.
As an organisation that accepts no funding from the Federal Government, the funds raised also enable the ASRC to maintain fearless independence and continue advocating for the rights of refugees and people seeking asylum and create lasting social change.
Volunteers are the lifeblood of ASRC, and there are many ways to help – learn more about volunteering here.
If you haven’t had a chance to give yet it’s not too late
