A couple years ago, while helping out at CCare, I began mapping out the aid resources in our community for internal use in order to help guide CCare recipients who were asking for additional support. What started out as a internal project has become what we know now as The Social Blueprint.
For those unaware, CCare is the leading frontline Jewish community organisation supporting those who are experiencing food insecurity and social isolation. The world literally shut down in March 2020, and by May of the same year, the number of CCare recipients doubled (today, as we slowly recover from the effects of the pandemic, the number is now quadrupled).
Many new recipients had never had to ask for aid before. Some felt embarrassed. Others felt humiliated. However, thankfully most felt comfortable enough to reach out and ask for the much-needed additional help. Whilst CCare’s core mission is to support those experiencing food insecurity and social isolation, we noticed that increasingly there were other forms of aid our recipients needed.
Soon enough, it became apparent to me that there was no single directory where such services were catalogued. I recognised the ever-growing demand and developed a comprehensible chart for CCare’s internal use. I reached out to other organisations to understand who we should be directing towards their services. Organisations requested copies of our directory for their use.
I realised that the best way to reach more people was to make it available to other organisations and individuals. A website was the natural progression, and by the end of 2020, The Social Blueprint was born! Twenty organisations and individuals were involved in helping to navigate their areas of expertise to ensure that the categories, subcategories, language and sensitivities were accounted for.
I knew that I didn’t want to do this alone and was looking for other people with the same passion and vision for the community to join me on this endeavour. Andrew Blode AM enthusiastically came on board and has been instrumental in helping to shape the direction of The Social Blueprint.
The recent events showed how quickly anyone could face an adverse situation. We understand and appreciate the sensitivity involved in individuals requiring support and assistance of any nature.
I am a believer that everyone needs help carrying their ‘backpack’ at some point in life. The Social Blueprint mitigated two of the most significant challenges: Asking for help and knowing where to look for support.
Today, The Social Blueprint is a not for profit with its sole objective to continue delivering support for those in need within our community. Through countless hours of networking, phone calls and meetings, we have achieved true collaboration within the community.
We have a diverse team with varying ages and life experiences. Our team is constantly growing and we are always eager to hear new voices. The working team has been instrumental in setting up the parameters and strategy for the website making The Social Blueprint is a comprehensive place for community support.
What originally started as an aid resource, has now evolved into a comprehensive online hub for the community. We have been successful in showcasing all our community has to offer with our events calendar, business listings, blogs and interviews. Through our blog and video series we aim to highlight different issues, life choices and inspire others.
Today The Social Blueprint’s mission to create connections within the community to empower each person’s journey. While we are all on our journeys, we should never forget that we can’t reach far without others. We are Intertwined with those who might be crossing our paths along the way. These synergies inspire, enrich and strengthen our Jewish community.
The website connects people through community, business and social. Community, is being part of the Jewish community and everyone else who supports us. Business, is supporting each other’s businesses so that we can collectively thrive with dignity and purpose. Social, refers to our livelihood, well-being, and collective and individual social responsibility.
If anyone wants to know more or support us, we invite all community organisations and businesses to list their offerings on the site (free of charge). Help us support our community and those in need, and hopefully, make someone else’s ‘backpack’ a little less heavy to carry.
You can find us at: https://thesocialblueprint.org.au/
