Let’s give where we live this March as the capital celebrates Canberra Day, urges Hands Across Canberra’s CEO Genevieve Jacobs. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
Canberrans are being asked to extend their hands – and hearts – in the spirit of giving locally as the nation’s capital gathers for its annual birthday celebrations.
With the city set for a flurry of festivities to mark Canberra Day on 10 March, charity group Hands Across Canberra (HAC) will join the event that showcases the best of what it means to live in the ACT.
For HAC, that includes making Canberra a better place for every single person who lives here, says CEO Genevieve Jacobs.
It’s why the charity is urging every resident to take action to help build a stronger, more connected community ahead of the annual Canberra Day Appeal.
“We want to build a culture of giving across the whole community – to make sure that as we go back to school and work, we set a course of giving for the whole year.
“It’s creating the awareness that building a better Canberra matters to all of us.”
Established in 2013, HAC enjoys “terrific support and leadership” from its partners, helping more than 350 local charities and community groups, according to Genevieve.
Canberra is already a giving community, she states.
“Canberrans are the most generous donors in the country, but 85 per cent of that money leaves the ACT,” she says.
“We need to look after the community that is right here because while Canberra is a privileged and well-heeled community, it’s a very long drop to the bottom,” Genevieve says.
There is pervasive poverty, often among unexpected pockets of its people.
Rental stress among low-income private rental households is the highest in the country at 73 per cent, HAC reports, and 38 per cent of Canberrans living in poverty are in households where they have paid employment.
“It’s surprising the number of people who need food,” Genevieve says.
“When you are vulnerable, have multiple needs, if something goes wrong with your health, all of a sudden you’ve only got $5 to $10 to put food on the table.
“These people could be a friend, your neighbour across the street … and that’s where HAC wants to be there to help.”
In 2024, more than $1.5 million in grants was donated to 60 different charities through the Canberra Foundations Collaborative.
The Canberra Day Appeal, which started in 2019, is the chance for individuals, families and businesses to transform a day of celebration into a meaningful contribution by giving where they live.
A collaboration between HAC, the Chief Minister’s Charitable Fund, community organisations and Canberrans, the appeal is one of the many threads that “help knit us together as a community of kindness”, according to Genevieve.
Participants can choose to support charities participating in the appeal or donate directly to a cause of their choice.
From now until 20 March 2025, every dollar donated to a local charity will be doubled with matched funding for the first $2500 raised.
Those who like to put their generosity into action (literally) are invited to lace up running (or walking) shoes and gather friends and family for the 2025 Canberra Day Appeal Fun Run around Lake Burley Griffin.
HAC’s support flows into a broad range of needs across the city – from hunger and homelessness and help for women and children experiencing domestic and family violence to programs that address issues of loneliness and isolation for migrants, refugees and the elderly, according to Genevieve.
“Where people are hurting, in pain, need a hand or a reason to hope, we want to be there,” she says.
Genevieve, who took over the helm of the charity in April 2024, says one of the strengths of Canberra is it is a “closely connected city”. She likens it to a big country town with a strong set of connections.
That means it’s absolutely possible to make a difference.
As a former ABC presenter and a founding Region Group Editor, the journalist in her has relished the opportunity to see the extraordinary stories that emerge through the funding rounds.
Last year, she says she was particularly taken by the work of the Tiny Pet Clinic.
“It’s where a vet surgeon takes out a fully outfitted mobile trailer to bring veterinary services to pet owners who may be struggling to access veterinary care,” Genevieve says.
“For many people, having a companion animal is so important to their mental health and wellbeing, but if something goes wrong, the cost can be prohibitive.
“When I hear a story like that, I feel really emotional … I love that.”
To support the 2025 Canberra Day Appeal, click here, or to learn more about how to give where you live, visit Hands Across Canberra.
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