Help solve homelessness, one meal at a time

They say that charity begins at home but in this case it begins with a pleasant meal out at a restaurant of your choice.

Street Smart Australia’s 2009 Restaurant Campaign has a tag line of “dine out... help out” and the idea really is as simple as that. From November 9th until Christmas Eve, Street Smart joins up with restaurants in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory to ask diners to help the homeless by adding a small donation - $2 or more - to their bill.

Now in its sixth year, last year’s campaign raised $260,000 plus an extra $100,000 for bush fire survivors, with 100% of donations going to small grassroots organisations (everyday operational expenses are funded by corporate sponsors).

According to Street Smart’s website 238 restaurants have signed up so far, with more joining daily. A quick search of the site shows that the Sydney list includes dining hotspots such as Bistro Moncur, Bondi Trattoria, Danks St Depot, Fix St James, Glebe Point Diner, Kazbah on Darling, Le Grande Bouffe, Longrain, Nilgiri’s, Oscillate Wildly, The Book Kitchen, Universal Restaurant and Vini.

With such great restaurants participating there’s absolutely no reason not to get behind this fantastic campaign by planning your silly season socialising around venues that have signed up. Your donation may be less than the cost of a takeaway cappuccino but it will make a big difference.