Save articles for later
Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.
A Melbourne couple have been described as good-hearted for running and helping to fund a free community barbecue for hundreds of disadvantaged people.
As many of us headed for the beach or did Christmas shopping on Sunday, Beata “BB” Stednik and her husband, William Stednik, were giving out free kebabs, groceries and gifts.
Beata “BB” Stednik and her husband William at their community Christmas barbecue at the Hampton Park Junior Football Club oval.Credit: Penny Stephens
The couple, alongside dozens of other volunteers, enjoyed beautiful weather for the annual event, held for the charity Find a Penny Foundation at the Hampton Park Junior Football Club oval.
Locals enjoyed free mashed potato, halal chicken kebabs and salads; access to a free food pantry; and pre-loved clothes being sold for $1 or $2. There were free kids’ activities, such as a craft stall, and Christmas hampers were given out.
BB Stednik, a retired caterer, said her hopes for the day were “that those that are lonely, don’t have families, that can’t afford food will have food for Christmas”.
“We want to put smiles on kids’ faces. And it’s so that refugees that struggled financially can have a happy time.
“Not everyone celebrates Christmas and some people have got no reason to celebrate, but we want to make that day special for them. To say, regardless of their circumstances, that people think of them.”
Given the rising cost of living, locals said they were grateful.
Wendy, of Hampton Park, who picnicked with husband Andrew and eight-year-old daughter Eliza, who has special needs, said it was a “magnificent day”.
“They are very good-hearted people,” she said of the Stedniks. “I have had some financial issues and the food [given out at the pantry] has always been helpful.
“BB and Will are fantastic people just to talk to. They’re just here for us any time we need help.”
The Stedniks led a team of volunteers who fed hundreds of people on Sunday.Credit: Penny Stephens
Wendy said it was also nice “just to be together with the community after COVID. It’s nice to see people’s faces and talk to people.”
Doinita, of Pakenham, a food pantry volunteer and mother of 10 children aged 10 to 21, is also a recipient of the charity’s goods, as she struggles to afford rent, food and bills.
One of her children lives with severe autism and another has a mental illness, and Doinita’s husband has had to give up work to help her care for them.
She said more and more families were seeking help from the charity, sometimes 100 on Thursdays when the pantry is open, many of them refugees with children who don’t qualify for Centrelink payments.
Doinita volunteers for and uses the Find a Penny Foundation food pantry.Credit: Penny Stephens
Doinita said BB Stednik was a “superwoman” who often laboured from 6am to the evening for the charity.
“It would be better if there were more people like her. She’s always thinking, ‘What can I cook for the homeless? How can I make something from nothing?’
“She’s the first person I’ve met who has so much devotion to help people. If she doesn’t have enough vegetables to give to people, she cries. Because she wants to help and she can’t. She’s focused on this, all the time.”
The charity stays open over the Christmas period and the Stedniks have not had a break, but get satisfaction from helping others.
“One woman was in tears, saying, ‘If not for you, I wouldn’t have food for my three kids for the week. I’ve got $5 left in my pocket.’ She comes from domestic violence,” BB said.
In communist Poland, where BB grew up, religion was banned, but her grandmother Josfa would host a family meal and pray on Christmas Day.
Josfa would reserve a place at the table for a needy person, despite the family having to queue for scant food stocks themselves. When BB came to Australia in 1984, aged 14, she was struck by the abundance and wastage of food.
As a Christian, BB believes in serving others through the charity, but she also loves it.
“It’s exhausting, but you know when you exercise and know you’ve done something good for your body? You go, ‘That’s a great tiredness.’ That’s how I feel every day.”
Find a Penny Foundation is now seeking to raise $600,000 to build a new kitchen, because the football club kitchen is inadequate and Stednik has to cook food for the charity at home.
Most Viewed in National
From our partners
Source: Read Full Article
