16 August 2022
Custom Fleet staff volunteer at Magpie Nest in Melbourne
As a part of our Custom Care program, Custom Fleet actively partners with several not-for-profit organisations. We offer our employees the opportunity to give back to our community through volunteer activities.
On Friday 5 August 2022, a team of Custom Fleet staff volunteered at Magpie Nest Cafe in Melbourne's CBD, which is part of Project 614.
The Salvation Army Melbourne's Project 614 is a diverse, supportive and safe community in the heart of Melbourne. They offer a range of practical, emotional and spiritual support services including free meals, youth street teams, skills-based training and health services.
The 'heartbeat' of Project 614 is the Magpie Nest Cafe, which serves hundreds of free meals every day to Melbourne's most vulnerable.
Our team were joined by staff from The Salvation Army and were involved in various cafe duties including: serving food, taking orders, delivering food, and clean up.
The team had an overwhelmingly positive experience on the day, and said:
"We were all very excited to help! During service we were pumped and run off our feet, whether we were on the floor or in the kitchen we were all busy and so happy to be volunteering and feeding these amazing people."
"We met so many different people from different backgrounds - young, middle aged, elderly. We all felt rewarded after volunteering and helping out and we're all happy to come back to help out again."
"This is not just a place for people to get fed, it is a place that makes them feel part of society with full table service. It's also a meeting place for many people, as well as a place to have a shower and be warm."
"The Salvation Army also hands out clothing and chocolates for the clients at the cafe as well."
"I personally was very touched and got a little emotional with some of the people I met when I heard some of their stories. I found that the clients were so polite and appreciative of what they were getting."
Magpie Nest and the Cafe are just two of the services offered by Project 614.
You can find out more about their services and how you can donate and/or get involved on the Project 614 website.
We thank our staff for their time and willingness to volunteer at the cafe, and we're so glad they had a fulfilling day. The Salvation Army staff agreed that it was an enjoyable and positive team building day for them also.
