Helping give foster kids a brighter start

Group of smiling volunteers at A Better Life For Foster Kids with some of their handmade support items
Foster kids header

Many children entering foster care arrive with little more than the clothes on their back.

That's where A Better Life For Foster Kids (ABLFFK) comes in. The Gippsland-based charity supports children entering foster and kinship care, with volunteers providing crises cases filled with essentials like clothing, toiletries and comfort items.

These small but important items help children feel safe and supported during an incredibly difficult time.

A $20,000 Alinta Energy Community Grant has helped strengthen that support through ABLFFK's Koo Wee Rup facility, a key hub for distributing crisis cases. It's meant more essentials are on hand when they're needed most, particularly for adolescents and kinship placements.

The funding has also helped ease pressure on carers and improve response times across outer metro communities, while supporting the volunteers and partners who make this work possible.

Volunteers from A Better Life For Foster Kids wearing Santa hats and grouped around a Christmas tree
Foster Xmas

The support hasn't stopped there. Alinta Energy employees have also volunteered their time, rolling up their sleeves to help where it's needed.

Around Christmas, staff found another way to contribute.

After attending a Myeloma Australia fundraiser as part of an Alinta Energy table, a staff member won a luxury weekend experience at Marnong Estate and chose to pay it forward. When ABLFFK later put out a call for help following a break-in at its Sale warehouse, the prize was donated and auctioned internally.

Purchased by another team member and matched dollar for dollar by Alinta Energy, the auction helped fund an additional 130 Christmas gifts for children and young people.

Together, the grant, volunteering and staff-led fundraising show how practical support can make a meaningful difference for children and the people who care for them.