M8’s Day: how a beer with your mates raised thousands of dollars for housing.
Helping people does not have to be hard work. Sometimes it can be as simple, and as good, as a beer with your mates at the local.
On Thursday 8 May, that is exactly what happened across Victoria. Through our M8’s Day fundraiser with Australian Venue Co, critical funds were raised for We Are Mobilise, enough to provide over 1,000 nights of housing through our Kickstarter program. And it came from something wonderfully ordinary: people getting out and spending time with the people they love.
One day, 38 pubs, $1 a beer.
Here is how it worked. Across 38 Australian Venue Co venues in Victoria, $1 from every tap beer sold was donated to We Are Mobilise. A schooner after work, a round with mates, a cold one with the footy on: each one quietly added up to something that matters.
It was M8’s Day, the day pubs right across Victoria leaned into what they do best, bringing people together and giving everyone a reason to check in on their mates.
Why we loved being part of it
This is something we have believed since day one. You should be able to get involved in solving homelessness in any way you like, on your own terms, doing the things you already enjoy.
Helping out can look like a run club, a bottomless brunch, or a beer with your mates at the pub. Social impact is not a burden you carry. It is something we can weave into everyday life, into the good stuff we already do.
Mates Day is proof of that. People did something they love, with the people they love, and tens of thousands of dollars flowed to people doing it tough. That is connection for change, and it is exactly the kind of thing we want to do more of.
What is Mobilise Kickstarter, our Direct Giving program?
Every dollar raised goes to our Kickstarter program. When someone is ready for housing, their case manager refers them to us, and we help cover what so often stands in the way: a rental bond, rent, or arrears, plus up to 12 weeks of rental support.
Stepping in early, at the right moment, is how we help break the cycle of homelessness for good. So funds raised over schooners and pints are not just a number. It is over 1,000 nights of housing: bonds paid, rent covered, and front doors opened.
Thank you, Australian Venue Co
Australian Venue Co is a proudly Melbourne-grown business with more than 200 venues, and backing local communities is part of how they operate. We are grateful they got around Mates Day with us, and grateful to every venue team who ran with it and every single person who raised a glass for the cause.
This is just the beginning
M8’s Day showed something simple: helping people can be as fun as the things we already love doing. It worked, and it is only the start.
If your business would get behind something like this, get in touch. If you would rather put support straight into the hands of people moving into housing, you can donate any time. However you want to get involved, there is a way in, and together we can prove that homelessness is solvable in Australia.
