The taste of love and compassion
Infoscions keep the flame of volunteering burning in Australia and New Zealand
Food insecurity and hunger are looming crises in Australia, with more than two million people seeking food relief at any given time of the year. While most families living on a tight budget consider healthy eating important, only about half are able to afford nutritious food. For many, this choice does not exist, and finding meals is a challenging and arduous task.
Cooking for a cause
Since 2010, groups of Infoscions in Australia have joined as volunteers at Ozanam House; a VincentCare facility that has been supporting the homeless in Melbourne since 1953. The kitchen team at Ozanam House works relentlessly, bolstered by an army of up to 40 Infoscions who join it to help over the course of each year. The diverse team of Infosys volunteers work together to fulfill each day’s cooking tasks, as well as participate in meal service and cleanup.
While most of our volunteers do not have any professional kitchen experience, they work together with guidance from Ozanam House staff to prepare simple, nutritious meals. The volunteers assist the catering team in preparing over 8,000 meals a month for their lunchtime meal program.
The true spirit of Christmas
Every year, the number of Infosys volunteers at Ozanam House swells during Christmas time, with extra volunteers joining the team to help out with preparations during the festive season. Our volunteers work in teams to either help prepare meals, or wrap hundreds of Christmas parcels containing goods donated to Ozanam House. The gifts are distributed to people who rely on VincentCare for shelter, meals, care and support. For many of these people, the gift from Ozanam House is the only present they receive.
Turning restaurateur to raise funds
Infoscions working on the Spark (Telecom NZ) account went from skilled IT professionals to skilled outdoor restaurateurs; advertising, preparing, cooking, and serving some excellent cuisine, all in the quest to raise funds for a client colleague who is battling a serious illness.
The team organized their own stall for a Friday Street Feast fundraiser on the streets of Auckland, and received overwhelming feedback from customers on the fantastic Indian fare. Overall, the Street Feast raised close to $12,000 to help fund medical treatment for the beneficiary; a Spark employee.
“The team from Infosys are a huge part of Spark and we really appreciate you getting involved and standing with us to support their colleague. I see many of your team sitting at the collaboration table with him every day and so I appreciate how closely they work with him. Please be rest assured that he is fighting hard to get well and that he knows he has all of our support. Thank you again.”
- Spark Account Leadership Representative
At Infosys in Australia and New Zealand, we are volunteering as amateur chefs to support organizations and charities who are helping to sustain those in need within the community. It is also a chance for Infoscions to interact with each other in a different environment. Not only is volunteering fun and relaxing, the spirit of camaraderie found in a kitchen is sometimes an extra source of inspiration for the team.
