He is one of Australia’s most passionate and hardworking charity bosses, bringing food and disaster relief to those in their most desperate hour of need.
Amar Singh, the president and co-founder of the Sikh-led Turbans 4 Australia, is himself now calling for help as he battles to make a difference in the lives of Aussies who are being smashed by the soaring cost of living.
The 2023 Australian of the Year Local Hero has issued an urgent call for much-needed state government funding so he and his team of tireless volunteers can continue to provide for the needy.
The charity boss, who runs programs in NSW, Victoria and Queensland, delivers between 450 and 500 hampers per week to those in need from his warehouse in Clyde, in Sydney’s west.
The charity is inundated with calls every week from people whose lives are being crushed by a lack of money for food on top of rising mortgage costs and fuel prices.
“Our food hamper program just exploded after the lockdown ended,” Mr Singh said.
“We thought people were not going to require so much support but with the cost of living going up, people are still lining up outside our warehouse.
“It’s really sad to see that people are still struggling and yet not much support is out there for them.
“Every week we will get calls from people who look up our website and say ‘Hey, I really need food today’ and we only do hampers on a Sunday. So it’s hard.
“So many people are facing food insecurity — people are lining up for over an hour just to get a hamper. So that shows just how severe the need is.”
Turbans 4 Australia has not received any state government funding since the Covid-19 lockdowns, he said, and the dire lack of cash had impacted the charity’s new Community Kitchen project.
Mr Singh has been forced to delay the building of a commercial kitchen at his warehouse for the project, which would see volunteers preparing and serving hot meals to the disadvantaged.
Turbans 4 Australia has partnered with Sydney Community Foundation to start a sub fund to raise money to help the charity continue its life-changing work and get the Community Kitchen project up and running.
Mr Singh is calling on the public to dig deep and donate to the worthy cause.
He said the impact that the rising cost of living was having on society’s most vulnerable, particularly the elderly and infirm, was frightening.
“You’ll have young couples lining up, the older people lining up. You have refugee people facing homelessness and substance abuse and senior citizens — and that’s what really scares me,” he said.
Turbans 4 Australia is hoping to raise $150,000 through the sub fund before June 30.
Those who wish to donate can go here.
The link will bring donors to the fundraising page, which is a partnership between
Turbans 4 Australia and the Sydney Community Foundation.