PAYCE Foundation backs Vinnies Vans with $250,000 amid growing Illawarra need

A mobile charity service seeing increasing demand in the Illawarra has received major philanthropic backing.

PAYCE Foundation Directors with NSW Minister for Health the Hon. Ryan Park MP, St George Illawarra Dragons representatives and Vinnies volunteers at the Coniston Homeless Hub, Wollongong.

Vinnies Vans, an outreach service that provides meals, toiletries and referrals, has received $250,000 from the PAYCE Foundation to help support the ongoing delivery of the service in the Illawarra, where the program has been operating for more than 15 years.

In the past six months alone, the Illawarra Vinnies Vans supported 5,500 people, with 672 onward referrals connecting individuals to broader services. Across the full year, close to 13,000 people were supported in the region and 100,000 across the state.

Vinnies Regional Director South Solange Frost said the service is a critical source of support and companionship.

“As the cost-of-living crisis deepens and with a global event that is only increasing, it’s incredibly important to be able to keep these vans on the road,” Ms Frost said.

“We get to know the people who are coming — they get to know our volunteers, they’re able to build up a relationship and establish that trust, which is often one of the biggest hurdles for people wanting to seek support.”

PAYCE Foundation Director Sophie Boyd said the donation was driven by a deep personal connection to the work Vinnies does, and a firsthand understanding of just how quickly circumstances can change.

“The PAYCE Foundation was started by my dad; he’s very big on working in the spaces of people that are sometimes forgotten — homelessness, domestic violence, addiction,” Ms Boyd said.

“The vans being able to reach more people — we find it important to help them on their mission.”

The announcement was made at a community barbeque in April at the St Vincent de Paul Society’s Coniston Homeless Hub near Wollongong, attended by NSW Minister for Health and Minister for the Illawarra and the South Coast, the Hon. Ryan Park MP.

St George Illawarra Dragons players Ryan Couchman and Dylan Egan, COO Ben Creagh, and the wider Dragons Community Team joined PAYCE Foundation Founder Brian Boyd and Directors Dominic Sullivan, Sophie Boyd, Talal Ghattas and Tony Wishart to distribute food and connect with community.

Ms Boyd said Minister Park’s attendance showed a commitment to the Illawarra community.

“His personal care and commitment to this community was extremely evident. He was genuinely engaged with every person there,” Ms Boyd said.

The Illawarra Vinnies Van is co-located at Charles Gordon O’Neill House in Coniston, sitting alongside the Society’s housing and homelessness services in a place-based model designed to ease access to help.

The hub also hosts cooking classes, art workshops and regular visits from Centrelink, legal aid and employment support.

Thirteen Vinnies Vans operate across New South Wales in Sydney, Wollongong, Newcastle, Coffs Harbour, Lismore, Wagga Wagga and Orange, running five days a week and powered entirely by volunteers.