Community Group of the Year Darebin Community Awards

Published on 06 April 2022

Get the latest on the 2021 The winner of Community Group of the Year, and the special commendations

The winner of 2021 Community Group of the Year: Alex Makes Meals

Alex makes meals was founded by Alex Dekker and Neraj Galagedara in early 2020, during the height of COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. Alex Makes Meals is a charity group making and delivering high quality meals to vulnerable individuals across Melbourne.

Alex, a university student at the time, could not visit his immunocompromised parents or his sister, who was working at a hospital. Sensing the stress his sister was under, he decided to make a meal for her and her workmates. Alex’s lasagne was a hit, so he kept on cooking and Alex Makes Meals was born!

No longer a one-man operation and successfully operating from the Darebin Arts Centre, Alex Makes Meals is a movement driven by dedicated volunteers providing over 300,000 warm, tasty meals to homeless and disadvantaged youth. In under two years this group has had a significant impact on not just the Darebin community but also wider Melbourne.

Special commendation: Your Community Health

Community Group of the Year, again the committee decided a special commendation should be awarded in this category and that was awarded to: Your Community Health Throughout the pandemic Your Community Health has stepped up, consistently supporting at-risk Darebin communities to maintain the best possible health and wellbeing, while delivering and maintaining integral day-to-day services.

Staff have empowered the most vulnerable members of our community to connect them with crucial support and care, ensuring equity of access and provision of information. Your Community Health ensured our older vulnerable clients and those with disability remained socially connected in creative ways: knocking on their doors, dropping off morning tea, waving happy birthday signs outside their homes and, facilitating community conference-calls and visits. Your Community Health also supported people to receive vaccinations and testing in easy-to-access community settings, such as the Islamic Museum of Australia and rooming houses.

A Special Commendation for an exceptional organisation during exceptional times.

Find the full list of Darebin Community Award winners, how the awards work, what the different categories are and how to nominate.

Darebin Community Awards