In a crowded restaurant, homelessness would probably not be regarded as appropriate dinner table conversation. Meals are to be enjoyed with light-hearted political banter or funny anecdotes. But in the lead-up to Christmas, StreetSmart chief executive Adam Robinson wants diners to put aside the small talk and consider those without a home.
The non-profit organisation’s annual Dine Out – Help Out campaign begins this month. In its eighth year, the campaign asks diners to add $2 or more to their table’s bill every time they dine at a StreetSmart participating restaurant.
“Every dollar people donate will give hope and opportunities to those experiencing homelessness,” Robinson says. “It doesn’t go to the Salvos, but to the small organisations that are making big differences but don’t get any funding.”
Finding a participating restaurant or café when you’re feeling peckish isn’t hard. There are 246 across Australia, 96 of them in Victoria. It’s a big leap from the 17 restaurants Robinson had in the first year of the campaign.
“When we piloted the program in Melbourne, we wanted to keep things small and manageable so we could see if it would work,’’ he says. ‘‘We still managed to raise something like $16,000 from only 17 restaurants, which was incredible at the time.”
Born in the UK and now living in Camberwell, Robinson isn’t one of those holier-than-thou charity campaigners.
“I was just a guy working in business marketing, providing for his partner and family, but the lack of discussion on homelessness in this country started to grate on me,” he says.
“It was completely off the political agenda in 2003 and that got my goat. I wanted to do something, so I quit my job and began calling small charities asking them if they needed someone to help with fund-raising for free. I was blown away with how many did.”
Angered by the funding issues smaller homeless organisations faced, Robinson decided to start a Melbourne version of the UK charity StreetSmart, which had been around for years.
“Restaurateurs there were noticing kids sleeping on the grills of their restaurants, so they’d give them food or sleeping bags and from there the idea of adding a donation to a bill sprung up organically.”
Gordon Ramsay was the face of the UK campaign and his then untarnished reputation helped Robinson bring Melburnian restaurants around to the idea.
“My sister actually called me up to tell me she’d just dined out and left a pound for charity,’’ he says. ‘‘To think, you’ve just eaten a meal, leaving a quid extra is nothing. You spend more on mineral water by mistake. That’s how I explained it to restaurants over here.”
The reception for Dine Out – Help Out was overwhelming and from Melbourne the campaign branched out to South Australia, NSW, Canberra and Queensland, raising more than $350,000 last year.
“StreetSmart gave projects like the Choir of Hard Knocks and the Big Issues Street Soccer funding before they were famous, but we usually try to keep the money in the community where it was donated,” Robinson says.
In previous years, StreetSmart has funded, among others, women’s care programs for CamCare, homeless prevention initiatives in Boroondara and mental support agencies across Balwyn.
“These are women’s refuges or health clinics that have to remain anonymous,’’ Robinson says. ‘‘No one has ever rung them up and asked them if they’d like funding. I’ve had agencies on the phone crying because I’ve just given them $5000.”
For some of the bigger charities, that might seem a drop in the ocean, but Robinson insists it goes a long way for these organisations.
“They use it to pay for meal programs, youth accommodation, or just to buy someone a new toothbrush or books for a homeless kid who’s still at school,’’ he says. ‘‘Sometimes they even send any leftover money back with a note telling me to give it to someone else who needs it. That’s how grateful they are.”
Camberwell restaurant Italy 1 has been involved in StreetSmart since
the beginning. Owner Jonathon Lee has a background in law, which he
says heightened his awareness of
social justice issues in his community.
“StreetSmart was in line with a lot of my own personal social values,’’ he says. ‘‘It’s not a case of being a Johnny Do Gooder, it’s just that some people make more of a difference to some people’s lives than others.”
Not all Lee’s customers loved the idea, but the restaurant garnered enough support to become one of StreetSmart’s most successful fund-raisers.
“We get people who flatly refuse to hand over an extra $2,’’ he says. ‘‘It’s a little bit embarrassing for us, especially if they’re regular clients, but, for the most part, people have been incredibly positive and supportive.”
With more than $1 million donated to 272 projects so far, Robinson hopes the Dine Out – Help Out campaign will continue to grow bigger and better every year.
“We’ve been doing this for a while and yet we are constantly surprised by just how big a difference $2 can make,’’ he says. ‘‘It may seem small, but it all adds up in the end. We can only hope that our record of raising more money every year will continue this year and beyond.”
¦ StreetSmart’s Dine Out- Help Out campaign runs until December 24.
For more information, visit streetsmartaustralia.org
Participating local restaurants include:
• Cosi Bar Restaurant
68 Toorak Road, South Yarra
• Canvas Restaurant and Bar
1/302-320 Burwood Road, Hawthorn
• Italy 1 Camberwell
823 Burke Road, Camberwell
• Ladro Greville
162 Greville Street, Prahran
• The Argo
64 Argo Street, South Yarra
• Vin Cellar
212 High Street, Prahran
• Harveys
10 Murphy Street, South Yarra
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