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October was a truly special month for the Magical Getaway Foundation — not only did seven families experience their first-ever holidays during Anti-Poverty Week, but their stories also inspired audiences across the country. On Monday 13 October, our Ambassadors Kat Stewart and Steven Bradbury appeared on Today Extra in a heartwarming segment titled “Holidays of Hope.” The interview beautifully captured what makes our getaways so special — giving families in need the chance to

The Happy Place Art Exhibition at The Nook Gallery & Studios in Mornington was a truly special evening, filled with creativity and magical moments. The event, held on Friday 15 November 2024, featured over 100 suitcases and backpacks painted by children, young people and adults, each representing their "Happy Place." For some, these reflected cherished memories of past holidays, while others depicted dreams of future adventures. The exhibition, opened by Sam Groth MP, broug

Next Market: Sunday 15 December 2024 Time: 10am - 3pm Location: Murrumbeena Uniting Church (Indoor Hall) There will be over 35 local stall holders, including coffee, handmade crafts, candles, Christmas decorations and gifts, jewellery, baked treats, art and photography prints, and more! All money raised from the stall holders goes towards gifting first-ever holidays for families.

Article first published by Dandenong Star Photo: Simrat's painting of a beach sunset Where is your happy place? Young and old have got creative and shared their answers at an upcoming Happy Place art exhibition at Heritage Hill Museum and Historic Gardens in Dandenong. For some, it was home. For others, it was collecting shells on a beach, watching a sunset, being in Nature or ‘making a difference’. More than 300 from schools, childcare, family day care, aged care, disability

Magical Getaway Foundation Market

Four years ago Miles made a bear for a project for school. This bear was meant to help children with anxiety, depression and/or trauma with a personal recorded message of ‘Your amazing, believe in yourself and never give up’. Since then over 30 bears have been made to help some very special children and keep them company on their very first holiday. On the 21st January 2022, the very last bear was made. Miles' Mum, Simone Wade said, "It has been an honour to help the Magical

Published by the Phillip Island and San Remo Advertiser on 1st April 2022 Six families, including ten parents, carers and 21 children, from Dandenong South Primary School, are visiting Phillip Island Nature Parks this month for their first ever holiday, which has been gifted to them through the Magical Getaway Foundation. The children and carers are staying at the Kaloha Holiday Resort this week, and will visit the Penguin Parade, Antarctic Journey at the Nobbies, Churchill I

National Day - Friday 26 August 2022 The Magical Getaway Foundation is very proud to announce for all Australian's Magical Getaway Day which will be celebrated on Friday 26th August 2022. On this special National Day, you and/or your organisation, school, business are invited to join our Ambassadors Kat Stewart and Steven Bradbury to dress up in your favourite holiday gear. Make a gold coin donation to show your support to the 1 in 3 Australian children who have never been on

Family has first-ever getaway in Lorne. Published by the Surf Coast Times.

Rosemary Teed, Founder of the Magical Getaway Foundation, was invited to speak for the second year at the International Week of Fair and Sustainable Tourism for All, hosted by the International Social Tourism Organisation (ISTO). On June 24, 2021, Rosemary spoke alongside three other professionals around the world on the topic "Tourism accessibility, inclusion and tackling inequality". See the full video below, Rosemary speaks at 36min. Rosemary's presentation was viewed by m

Michelle's father (Laszlo) was a holocaust survivor. As a child Laszlo’s mother, father, sister and brother were all taken away right in front of his eyes, to the gas chamber. Due to his height and physical strength, Laszlo was sent to work at a German concentration camp. After the war, Laszlo was fostered out to an Australian family. He came with nothing and no one, and that strength is what Michelle admires to this day. "Anyone can have a very terrible start, but you can ma

In May 2021, Handled With Care made an extremely generous donation to the Magical Getaway Foundation’s Trash to Treasure initiative.

Annalise is a mother to five beautiful boys. Unfortunately, Annalise and her children suffered from severe domestic violence. Before she was put in contact with the Magical Getaway Foundation, Annalise used to tell her boys that going to the refuge was like a holiday. Her five sons often found it difficult to make friendships with their peers, having so little in common. Annalise herself often spent her time at home, not wanting to leave the house. “I think the kids hadn’t ev

BY JAMES TAYLOR BUSINESS HELPS FAMILY HAVE A MAGICAL LORNE HOLIDAY The Magical Getaway Foundation helped co-ordinate the holiday in Lorne for the family of five. FIVE Lorne businesses generously offered their support to the Magical Getaway Foundation to give a Melbourne family their first ever holiday. The Magical Getaway Foundation (MGF) is the only national charity dedicated to social tourism – the foundation describes this as “providing access to breaks away from home for

In December 2017, Mikayla gifted her first 5 bears to the Swinge Family. The bears are handmade, which when squeezed give this special message: You are special, never give up. Since then, Mikayla has gifted over 25 bears to children who have gone on a first ever getaway with the Magical Getaway Foundation. Click the video above to watch Mikayla’s story. “I sleep with it every night, morning and day!” Boy, aged 9.

THANK YOU! Huge thanks to everyone who joined us for our inaugural Spring Family Carnival which was held on Sunday 20 October 2019 at Pirate Park in Keysborough. We would like to sincerely thank our Ambassadors, Kat Stewart & Steven Bradbury, our incredible volunteers, the City of Greater Dandenong, Dandenong CFA and all the businesses who made the event possible, including the Rotary Club of Pakenham, Del Real Estate, Officeworks Keysborough, Bunnings Keysborough, SEA LIFE

EXCELLENCE IN ACCESSIBLE TOURISM This year, MGF submitted an application in the 2019 RACV Tourism Awards, under the category Excellence in Accessible Tourism. The Victorian Tourism Awards represent an industry framework for peer recognition which fosters a culture for business development excellence and innovation. As part of the application process, one of the judges, Wendi Pearce, visited us to find out more about the Foundation. We invited Robyn Shields from Uniting (one o

VTIC Tourism Excellence Magazine, Volume 8 – No. 2 Summer 2018-19 The Magical Getaway Foundation, based in Melbourne, is the only national charity dedicated to pioneering social tourism in Australia. We are the inaugural Australian member of the International Social Tourism Organisation. Social tourism, the provision of equitable access to breaks away from home for populations who would otherwise be excluded, has been operating in the UK and Europe for over 60 years. Regretta

CONGRATS ON AN IMPRESSIVE EVENT! We are in awe of the support we received on Friday 19 October at the inaugural Social Tourism Forum in Australia. Huge thanks to everyone who joined us on the day. “Congrats on an impressive event yesterday. Although I was only able to stay for 45 mins, it did give me a greater insight into the amazing work that you do.” – John Phillips (Director of Advancement, Brighton Grammar) Alex Alexandrou, a former Board member, was our MC. We were hono

Last week we were accepted as a new member of the International Social Tourism Organisation (ISTO). The Magical Getaway Foundation is the inaugural member in Australia. The ISTO, initially created under the name International Bureau for Social Tourism (B.I.T.S.) in 1963, is an international non-profit making organisation whose mission is to promote access to leisure, holidays and tourism for all i.e. young people, families, senior citizens and disabled people. This is also kn