300 Blankets founded in 2012 as a volunteer initiative with a group of friends in Melbourne, Australia. With the message of “be the change you want to see in the world,” the initiative lead by Warren Tu and Kim Nguyen took shape through volunteering with community programs such as the St Vincent de Paul Society Victoria soup vans. It was through the soup vans that the name 300 Blankets developed. On any particular night, the soup van serves up to 300 people.

Blankets

The 300 Blankets mission is to keep our community warm. With a focus on warmth, we provide blankets to people experiencing homelessness. The blankets are obtained through donations from the community and are distributed throughout Victoria, Australia. We started with blankets because through our volunteer work, we have discovered that there is never enough.

Volunteering

300 Blankets is a strong advocate for volunteering. Our mission to keep our community warm extends to the warmth of friendship. Quite often when people are experiencing homelessness, they also lose a connection with the wider community. Our volunteering program educates the community about the realities of homelessness whilst contributing to making a positive difference.

Education

300 Blankets strongly believes that changes to the face of homelessness starts though education. We have completed projects with institutions such as Camberwell South Primary School, Mercy Regional Collage, Melbourne University, RMIT University, various Rotary Clubs, and other community groups. We continue working with community groups, schools, and universities to educate students about the realities of homelessness and to inspire future leaders about being compassionate people and build a desire to make a positive contribution to the community.

Since the beginning, 300 Blankets is now providing blankets for charities and community groups of all denominations and sizes. We are a strong advocate for charities working together for a common objective – to provide support for the most disadvantaged and disenfranchised people, experiencing homelessness in our community.