2026 on the Horizon: Supporting our Local Community

As we step into a new year, we recognise that the need in our community is not easing. Cost of living pressures, housing insecurity, family stress, and social isolation are still shaping daily life for many locals. At LinC, we will keep doing what we have always done: supporting our local community with practical support, dignity, and connection.

Here’s what’s on the horizon for LinC Yarra Valley in 2026, and how your support can turn need into practical help.

What we expect to see in 2026

Across the Yarra Valley and beyond, we are seeing people who are doing their best and still falling short of what’s required to keep food on the table, bills paid, and life steady.

In 2026, we anticipate ongoing demand for:

• Food relief that protects dignity, including access to fresh food and pantry staples
• Crisis support pathways, where people can be connected to practical help and local agencies
• Community connection, especially for parents, carers, older residents, new arrivals, and people who feel alone in their struggle
• Volunteer-powered services, because community care is built person by person, hour by hour

Our focus in 2026

LinC’s work will continue to centre on practical help, delivered with respect and consistency. In 2026, our focus will include:

1. Strengthening our Social Supermarkets
We will continue supporting our multi-site Social Supermarket program, making sure families and individuals can access free fresh food and essential items, in a welcoming environment.

2. Keeping crisis support responsive and connected
We will keep strengthening referral pathways and local partnerships with our Crisis Support so people who need more support can be linked with the right services, not left to navigate alone.

3. Creating spaces of belonging
Programs like LinC Play remind us that support is not only about supplies. It’s also about community. We will keep investing in places where people can breathe, talk, and feel seen.

4. Building capacity through volunteers
Volunteers are the beating heart of LinC. In 2026 we will continue improving training, rostering, and support structures so volunteering is meaningful, well-led, and sustainable.

Helping people in need is a community effort

LinC exists because our church member community, volunteers and supporters decide, again and again, to help. Sometimes that help looks like donating a bag of groceries. Sometimes it looks like giving two hours on a Friday. Sometimes it looks like a business choosing to align resources with local need.

How you can help our local community in 2026

If you are an individual in the community, here are three practical ways to support LinC:

Please donate
Financial donations help us respond quickly when needs change, fill gaps in essential supplies, and keep programs operating week to week.

Please volunteer
Volunteering is a direct way to build a stronger community. When you volunteer at LinC, you’re not just providing a service. You’re creating dignity and connection.

Please share LinC Yarra Valley with someone else
Tell a friend, a neighbour, your workplace, your community group, your church. Word of mouth is a powerful kind of generosity.

A message to local businesses: make your Corporate Social Responsibility local in 2026

If you’re a business owner or leader, 2026 is a powerful opportunity to make your corporate social responsibility real, local, and measurable.

Partnering with LinC Yarra Valley can look like:

• Workplace giving or matched donations
• A monthly or annual sponsorship commitment
• Team volunteering days that contribute practical hours to community programs
• In-kind support, including goods, services, logistics, printing, facilities, and professional skills
• Cause-aligned campaigns, where a percentage of sales supports LinC during key periods

Supporting LinC Yarra Valley is not just charity. It’s community resilience. It’s a practical investment in the place your staff live, your customers come from, and your business depends on.

Please contact us to explore a tailored program to meet the needs of your team.

You can explore the community impact your donations and volunteer hours help create here:

Thank you for standing with us. Community care is built in small, repeated actions. LinC is proof that those actions add up.