impact
the impact of melina’s work
Melina’s objective is to encourage, inspire and enable people to help their communities, environment and people in need.
She is known for her innovative and creative projects and programs to help support Australia’s most vulnerable and needy people.
Melina started running her own m.a.d.woman events and projects full time more than 15 years ago, but for more than a decade before that, had a long history of her spending a large portion of her own time heavily involved in assisting other charities and community groups.
During the past 25+ years, Melina has created, or been involved in, hundreds of projects to support hundreds of thousands of people and communities in need. She is frequently finding new and varied ways to support people.
the impact of melina’s work
Melina’s objective is to encourage, inspire and enable people to help their communities, environment and people in need.
She is known for her innovative and creative projects and programs to help support Australia’s most vulnerable and needy people.
Melina started running her own m.a.d.woman events and projects full time more than 15 years ago, but for more than a decade before that, had a long history of her spending a large portion of her own time heavily involved in assisting other charities and community groups.
During the past 25+ years, Melina has created, or been involved in, hundreds of projects to support hundreds of thousands of people and communities in need. She is frequently finding new and varied ways to support people.
just a snippet of ways melina has supported others…
Melina’s networking program Gals Doin’ Good has given participants creative hands-on opportunities to help others while meeting like-minded contacts.
The formation of partnerships with other charities and other programs, such as her Connecting the Community series, have raised funds and awareness for the likes of a Midwife on a Motorbike in Timor Leste and for sexual and reproductive health packs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
Melina has provided support to international communities following disasters. This includes the Christchurch earthquake and cyclones in Fiji.
As a contribution to the Feed Melbourne campaigns, Melina organised her largest single’s events three years in a row. Each had up to 250 participants, who cooked up to 12,000 meals for hungry and homeless in Melbourne. On one of those nights, 152 singles ‘matched’ (with similar results on the other nights). People have got married and had children as a result of meeting at these events. In addition, around $30,000 was donated to the ongoing support of Feed Melbourne. She also ran a Feed Sydney Cooking for a Cause event.
The Pencil Case Project – providing handsewn pencil cases filled with new school supplies to several thousand children in foster care, in hospitals, refuges, seeking asylum and facing other challenges.
As a committee member of the Royal Melbourne Hospital Dialysis Support Group for 10 years, Melina helped to raise more than $500 000 to support people awaiting lifesaving kidney transplants.
Melina has also given her time to speak to countless groups including schools, local councils, business gatherings, conferences and more to help inspire others to make a difference.
Through the CEO Sleepout in Australia and New Zealand Big Sleepout, Melina has proudly slept out eight times in three cities across two countries to raise awareness and funds for homeless issues.
Melina spent 18 months collecting and writing stories Black Saturday bushfire stories from the Traralgon South region for Beneath Dark Skies. Motivated by what she heard and saw, she also ran many events in Melbourne to connect the two communities and provide ongoing support (in addition to support of the Kinglake region and beyond).
Melina’s first major pro bono project in Australia was for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Australia. She developed and ran the Shirt-Off-Your-Back national fundraising and awareness campaign for Australian children with life-threatening illnesses. The campaign involved securing signed shirts from 100 key Australian celebrities, designing and managing the entire campaign, speaking on national television, producing television and radio commercials, organising the launch and securing national publicity.
[/dica_divi_carouselitem][dica_divi_carouselitem title=”mentoring young people” button_url_new_window=”1″ _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]A special ongoing endeavour has seen Melina donate her time to mentor young people, many who achieved great outcomes.
The random acts of m.a.d. (making a difference) program has seen Melina and others perform thousands of random acts of kindness without any expectation of anything in return.
More than 80,000 meals were cooked through m.a.d.woman Cooking for a Cause projects for some of Melbourne and Sydney’s homeless and hungriest people in partnerships that involved food rescued and made into nutritious meals instead of being put into landfill.
The Gardening for Good program has included regeneration of garden beds at a special community garden for disadvantaged and disabled youth, creation of a sensory garden for residents at a hospital unit for people with acquired brain injuries and tree-planting projects.
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Many and varied Christmas for a Cause projects have provided treats and dignity to tens of thousands of people facing disadvantage during the festive season – often a time when it’s hard for people doing it tough to find things to smile about.
For more than a decade, Melina has mentored young people, including her m.a.d. kid ambassadors, to support the community – in particular the Pencil Case Project.
The Declutter for a Cause campaign has given people tips to clear clutter, gain space and ideas for where to give goods to people who could really use them.
Working with a talented and dedicated bunch of volunteers, Melina has made gorgeous bibs and burp cloths for babies in disadvantaged families.
Over a number of years, Melina has organised and facilitated makeovers at the premises of some special charities.
Melina organised a team to do a refresh in the waiting room for a major hospital ICU unit, including setting up a library.
The ongoing Pages with Purpose program supports projects for people facing challenges.
Grateful in April is Melina’s free global initiative to get people focused on noticing and feeling good about what they’ve already got in their lives.
[/dica_divi_carouselitem][dica_divi_carouselitem title=”single volunteers” button_url_new_window=”1″ _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]Melina’s Single Volunteers events began as a one-off social experiment in Melbourne for her to find a boyfriend. Through word of mouth and media coverage, this expanded to events for singles, women networking, general networking and businesses events run nationally and internationally.
Through her social enterprise m.a.d.woman, Melina’s projects have aided hundreds of thousands of people – her work has seen the support of survivors of Black Saturday bushfires, the Christchurch earthquake and Australian floods, disabled and disadvantaged youth, long-term unemployed and more.
Melina created her own m.a.d.woman foundation (unfortunately closing during Covid) to support tens and tens of thousands of Australians facing challenges.
As an act of making a difference, Melina donated her car to Kids Under Cover to support youth. The car had driven Hollywood celebrity Harry Shearer, the voice of Montgomery Burns and others on The Simpsons.
General m.a.d. events have created awareness within the community and led the way in demonstrating how people can put back into society.
more about melina’s motivation
In every project she takes on, Melina strives for multiple, positive outcomes. Melina’s work has helped change behaviour. Her public events attracted thousands of people, many who had never before contributed to their community, to take action to assist others – both within her events and beyond.
At times when the economy has been uncertain and people are experiencing hardship, Melina found a way to make community contribution appealing to people who may not have previously contributed.
She has put her money where her mouth is to combine her passion and determination to better the planet and its inhabitants. Every program Melina has set up contributes to the community in some way – sometimes as much as 50-100 per cent of profits have been committed to funding community projects.
Anecdotally, many people who have been involved with one of Melina’s programs have gone on to support other charities and contribute to helping others. Her work with businesses has helped with their staff engagement, reputation and has had flow on effects.
With an incredible and unwavering conviction that people need to better connect with each other and take joint responsibility for the planet and its inhabitants, Melina has risked much to prove this.
Melina has turned obstacles into opportunities and forged ahead with innovative and creative concepts to find solutions for sometimes seemingly impossible issues.
more about melina’s motivation
In every project she takes on, Melina strives for multiple, positive outcomes. Melina’s work has helped change behaviour. Her public events attracted thousands of people, many who had never before contributed to their community, to take action to assist others – both within her events and beyond.
At times when the economy has been uncertain and people are experiencing hardship, Melina found a way to make community contribution appealing to people who may not have previously contributed.
She has put her money where her mouth is to combine her passion and determination to better the planet and its inhabitants. Every program Melina has set up contributes to the community in some way – sometimes as much as 50-100 per cent of profits have been committed to funding community projects.
Anecdotally, many people who have been involved with one of Melina’s programs have gone on to support other charities and contribute to helping others. Her work with businesses has helped with their staff engagement, reputation and has had flow on effects.
With an incredible and unwavering conviction that people need to better connect with each other and take joint responsibility for the planet and its inhabitants, Melina has risked much to prove this.
Melina has turned obstacles into opportunities and forged ahead with innovative and creative concepts to find solutions for sometimes seemingly impossible issues.
some of the organisations melina has supported…
BrainLink
[/dica_divi_carouselitem][dica_divi_carouselitem button_url_new_window=”1″ _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” header_level=”h3″ header_text_color=”#38b4bd” body_font=”|700|||||||” body_text_color=”#38b4bd” body_font_size=”20px” background_color=”#FFFFFF” background_enable_color=”on” custom_css_main_element=”.carousel-item-settings h3 {|| font-size: 5px; ||}” global_colors_info=”{}”]Concern Australia
[/dica_divi_carouselitem][dica_divi_carouselitem button_url_new_window=”1″ _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” header_level=”h3″ header_text_color=”#38b4bd” body_font=”|700|||||||” body_text_color=”#38b4bd” body_font_size=”20px” custom_css_main_element=”.carousel-item-settings h3 {|| font-size: 5px; ||}” global_colors_info=”{}”]FareShare
[/dica_divi_carouselitem][dica_divi_carouselitem button_url_new_window=”1″ _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” header_level=”h3″ header_text_color=”#38b4bd” body_font=”|700|||||||” body_text_color=”#38b4bd” body_font_size=”20px” custom_css_main_element=”.carousel-item-settings h3 {|| font-size: 5px; ||}” global_colors_info=”{}”]Foodbank Australia
[/dica_divi_carouselitem][dica_divi_carouselitem button_url_new_window=”1″ _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” header_level=”h3″ header_text_color=”#38b4bd” body_font=”|700|||||||” body_text_color=”#38b4bd” body_font_size=”20px” custom_css_main_element=”.carousel-item-settings h3 {|| font-size: 5px; ||}” global_colors_info=”{}”]Feed Melbourne
[/dica_divi_carouselitem][dica_divi_carouselitem button_url_new_window=”1″ _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” header_level=”h3″ header_text_color=”#38b4bd” body_font=”|700|||||||” body_text_color=”#38b4bd” body_font_size=”20px” custom_css_main_element=”.carousel-item-settings h3 {|| font-size: 5px; ||}” global_colors_info=”{}”]Kids Under Cover
[/dica_divi_carouselitem][dica_divi_carouselitem button_url_new_window=”1″ _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” header_level=”h3″ header_text_color=”#38b4bd” body_font=”|700|||||||” body_text_color=”#38b4bd” body_font_size=”20px” custom_css_main_element=”.carousel-item-settings h3 {|| font-size: 5px; ||}” global_colors_info=”{}”]Lifewise NZ
[/dica_divi_carouselitem][dica_divi_carouselitem button_url_new_window=”1″ _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” header_level=”h3″ header_text_color=”#38b4bd” body_font=”|700|||||||” body_text_color=”#38b4bd” body_font_size=”20px” custom_css_main_element=”.carousel-item-settings h3 {|| font-size: 5px; ||}” global_colors_info=”{}”]Make-a-Wish Foundation
[/dica_divi_carouselitem][dica_divi_carouselitem button_url_new_window=”1″ _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” header_level=”h3″ header_text_color=”#38b4bd” body_font=”|700|||||||” body_text_color=”#38b4bd” body_font_size=”20px” custom_css_main_element=”.carousel-item-settings h3 {|| font-size: 5px; ||}” global_colors_info=”{}”]Mission Australia
[/dica_divi_carouselitem][dica_divi_carouselitem button_url_new_window=”1″ _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” header_level=”h3″ header_text_color=”#38b4bd” body_font=”|700|||||||” body_text_color=”#38b4bd” body_font_size=”20px” custom_css_main_element=”.carousel-item-settings h3 {|| font-size: 5px; ||}” global_colors_info=”{}”]Open Family Australia
[/dica_divi_carouselitem][dica_divi_carouselitem button_url_new_window=”1″ _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” header_level=”h3″ header_text_color=”#38b4bd” body_font=”|700|||||||” body_text_color=”#38b4bd” body_font_size=”20px” custom_css_main_element=”.carousel-item-settings h3 {|| font-size: 5px; ||}” global_colors_info=”{}”]Pet Rescue
[/dica_divi_carouselitem][dica_divi_carouselitem button_url_new_window=”1″ _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” header_level=”h3″ header_text_color=”#38b4bd” body_font=”|700|||||||” body_text_color=”#38b4bd” body_font_size=”20px” custom_css_main_element=”.carousel-item-settings h3 {|| font-size: 5px; ||}” global_colors_info=”{}”]Prahran Mission
[/dica_divi_carouselitem][dica_divi_carouselitem button_url_new_window=”1″ _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” header_level=”h3″ header_text_color=”#38b4bd” body_font=”|700|||||||” body_text_color=”#38b4bd” body_font_size=”20px” custom_css_main_element=”.carousel-item-settings h3 {|| font-size: 5px; ||}” global_colors_info=”{}”]RMH Dialysis Fundraising Group
[/dica_divi_carouselitem][dica_divi_carouselitem button_url_new_window=”1″ _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” header_level=”h3″ header_text_color=”#38b4bd” body_font=”|700|||||||” body_text_color=”#38b4bd” body_font_size=”20px” custom_css_main_element=”.carousel-item-settings h3 {|| font-size: 5px; ||}” global_colors_info=”{}”]Sacred Heart Mission
[/dica_divi_carouselitem][dica_divi_carouselitem button_url_new_window=”1″ _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” header_level=”h3″ header_text_color=”#38b4bd” body_font=”|700|||||||” body_text_color=”#38b4bd” body_font_size=”20px” custom_css_main_element=”.carousel-item-settings h3 {|| font-size: 5px; ||}” global_colors_info=”{}”]Salvation Army
[/dica_divi_carouselitem][dica_divi_carouselitem button_url_new_window=”1″ _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” header_level=”h3″ header_text_color=”#38b4bd” body_font=”|700|||||||” body_text_color=”#38b4bd” body_font_size=”20px” custom_css_main_element=”.carousel-item-settings h3 {|| font-size: 5px; ||}” global_colors_info=”{}”]Sewing for Charity
[/dica_divi_carouselitem][dica_divi_carouselitem button_url_new_window=”1″ _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” header_level=”h3″ header_text_color=”#38b4bd” body_font=”|700|||||||” body_text_color=”#38b4bd” body_font_size=”20px” custom_css_main_element=”.carousel-item-settings h3 {|| font-size: 5px; ||}” global_colors_info=”{}”]St Kilda Gatehouse
[/dica_divi_carouselitem][dica_divi_carouselitem button_url_new_window=”1″ _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” header_level=”h3″ header_text_color=”#38b4bd” body_font=”|700|||||||” body_text_color=”#38b4bd” body_font_size=”20px” custom_css_main_element=”.carousel-item-settings h3 {|| font-size: 5px; ||}” global_colors_info=”{}”]Sydney Dogs Home
[/dica_divi_carouselitem][dica_divi_carouselitem button_url_new_window=”1″ _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” header_level=”h3″ header_text_color=”#38b4bd” body_font=”|700|||||||” body_text_color=”#38b4bd” body_font_size=”20px” custom_css_main_element=”.carousel-item-settings h3 {|| font-size: 5px; ||}” global_colors_info=”{}”]The Brotherhood of St Laurence
[/dica_divi_carouselitem][dica_divi_carouselitem button_url_new_window=”1″ _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” header_level=”h3″ header_text_color=”#38b4bd” body_font=”|700|||||||” body_text_color=”#38b4bd” body_font_size=”20px” custom_css_main_element=”.carousel-item-settings h3 {|| font-size: 5px; ||}” global_colors_info=”{}”]Heart Foundation
[/dica_divi_carouselitem][dica_divi_carouselitem button_url_new_window=”1″ _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” header_level=”h3″ header_text_color=”#38b4bd” body_font=”|700|||||||” body_text_color=”#38b4bd” body_font_size=”20px” custom_css_main_element=”.carousel-item-settings h3 {|| font-size: 5px; ||}” global_colors_info=”{}”]Vinnies
[/dica_divi_carouselitem][dica_divi_carouselitem button_url_new_window=”1″ _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” header_level=”h3″ header_text_color=”#38b4bd” body_font=”|700|||||||” body_text_color=”#38b4bd” body_font_size=”20px” custom_css_main_element=”.carousel-item-settings h3 {|| font-size: 5px; ||}” global_colors_info=”{}”]Whitelion
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