12/06/2025
Kelly Warren & her family are in for their biggest fight yet.
Although each Charity wishes to stand alone, we should all stand together for BK2 Basics.
Not only have they supported us, their contributions have also been donated to Follow Bless Collective. 1000s have benefited from Kelly & her family.
*** Important Update: Our Future in CASEY is in the Council’s Hands ***
Hi everyone,
This morning we received disappointing news from the City of Casey Planning Department. They have officially rejected our permit application. This has been a 20-month journey, costing us over $50,000 in legal, planning, and compliance fees. We’ve done everything asked of us, jumped through every hoop, adapted to every new restriction, and still, the outcome is uncertain. However, we’re not done yet. Our application is now heading to the Council Meeting on Tuesday, 17 June, where the final decision will rest with the elected Councillors. This is our last chance. Despite this setback, we want to thank the many other departments within the City of Casey who continue to support us with regular donations of food, textiles, homewares, and more. Your kindness keeps us going. Also a huge thank you to Apex Steel who have and will stand by us no matter what. And all our very loyal charity partners, suppliers, businesses Melbourne wide Thank you. To the Councillors and teams who have stood with us through fires, floods, and personal crisis over the years, thank you. Your support has never gone unnoticed. I was just 10 years old when my mum first started this charity, and my younger sisters were only 4 and 5 at the time. From the very beginning, both my parents dedicated their entire lives to helping the community. Growing up, we missed out on a lot as a family, but we were always proud of what our parents were doing. We also loved being involved ourselves helping out wherever we could and learning so much along the way, especially from our mum.
I’ve witnessed first hand the amount of hard work and heart my parents have poured into this cause. One moment that will stay with me forever is when my mum was diagnosed with sage 4 cancer. Even while battling her illness, doing 8 weeks of radiation every single day and weekly chemo, she never stopped and still was out feeding the homeless and running the charity seven days a week. She was, and still is, incredibly strong despite health issues which she keeps very much to herself. Our charity has become a pillar in the community. From delivering hot meals to struggling families, running food banks, organizing school supply drives, to helping people get back on their feet we’ve always tried to be there when people need us most. Whether it’s supporting victims of domestic violence, offering job support services, or simply being someone to talk to, our goal has always been to bring hope and dignity to those going through tough times. This work isn’t just what my parents do it’s who they are. And it’s shaped who we are too.
We ask the current Council to consider what is at stake:
• We support over 5,000 registered clients, not including regular daily referrals from government agencies, social workers, and even the City of Casey itself.
• We operate five days a week, responding to food insecurity and community hardship at scale.
• If we are forced to shut down, it’s not us who lose, it’s thousands of people who will go without food, without dignity, and without support during a time of national food crisis.
We’ve followed every condition placed on us. We’ve asked our clients to comply too, even when it made things harder for them. We’ve done everything to keep our doors open safely, responsibly, and respectfully.
The Council meeting on Tuesday 17 June is open to the public and we need your voice.
Please register to attend. Come and stand with us. Speak up for the clients, volunteers (past and present), and community members who rely on this service to survive.
We may not know what the future holds just yet. But we will not go down without a fight. The City of Casey is where we have operated for nearly a decade, in that decade we have helped thousands upon thousands of residents and we continue to do so.
We’re calling on every supporter to show up, speak out, and help save a service that helps thousands.
Would love and appreciate your support and hopefully see you there. Or you may send your questions through to be heard at the meeting via the councils we site.
To register to attend the meeting please click here
https://www.casey.vic.gov.au/council-meetings
Our permit has formally been rejected by planning and will now be brought up to councillors at their meeting on Tuesday. Councillors are all obliged to make a decision with an open mind so will be interesting. Remember these are the councillors that YOU elected in. To register click link and let’s go as a team. If rejected by councillors it’s not the end of us , Apex and all our partners care about the people and we certainly will not let you down. That would be very inhuman of us wouldn’t it. 💜💜
Attend a Council meeting. Submit a public question. Access past meetings minutes and agendas.
