The halos of Wagga’s favourite angels were shining bright on Friday, with the completion of a project that’s touched so many.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Beloved local charity Angels for the Forgotten have been working out of a storage shed since 2015, when their lease expired.
But recently a group of 22 veterans took up hammer and nail to help fit out their Kooringal op shop and food bank.
“It’s been a long slog. We got the building on September 1 and it’s taken our team of volunteers months to get the food bank side up and running. The vets have come in and done the op shop side in a week,” charity founder Melina Skidmore said.
“Our target is all vulnerable people in the community and those who are overlooked, working with veterans with mental health and PTSD has been a big thing we’ve been doing the last two years.
“They’re so vital and they’ve got so much to give.”
Alana Pendrick, workforce community development manager from TAFE approached Melina and the Wagga RSL sub-branch with the idea.
“I’m extremely proud, it’s a fantastic collaboration between three organisations and really shows the Wagga community spirit,” she said.
For the ex servicemen and women, students of the Wagga Carpentry Taster Program at TAFE, it’s been a formative experience. Dave Abbott served eight years in the army.
Injuries and his experiences on the front line saw him struggle with his own mental health after his discharge 20 years ago.
“Just being together takes our minds off a lot of other things, but we also get to talk to each other about our issues, being able to talk to someone that’s been there, done that is very beneficial,” Dave Abbott said.
“That whole camaraderie we had while we were in service is very much alive and well now and I think when we get a call to assist, we do it,” he said.
He has his own personal ties to the Angels’ journey and jumped at the opportunity to help.
“My son volunteered with them when he was in high school, and in 2010 when the floods were in Wagga my wife and I were both with the SES and were very involved. When the opportunity came along to assist them again it was a no-brainer,” he said.
“Now my wife’s volunteering here, so it’s just come full circle.”
The charity has grown to encompass the new food bank and op shop, a breakfast club, school lunch program, homework club, crisis care packs, pregnancy support and restart mental health program.
The new building at 44 Zeigler Avenue is open with all the materials donated by local businesses.
