Kennards Self Storage, which operates more than 80 self-storage facilities in Australia and New Zealand, supported a charity drive in March to benefit the Aboriginal community of Jilkminggan in the Northern Territory. Kennards provided boxes and space to store donations of clothing, sewing materials, toys and other items.

The national drive was launched by Kelly Wright, owner of TONI&GUY Bondi Beach Salon, and Tanya Edgerton, coordinator for Enterprise Learning Projects (ELP), a nonprofit that supports and promotes Aboriginal businesses in the country. In February, Edgerton visited Jilkminggan and met with women who expressed their desire to develop their printing and sewing skills. They were also seeking work opportunities and economic growth for the entire community, according to a source.

ELP partnered with the hair salon to set up collection boxes at the company’s 35 locations. The women will be able to use the items to create “pop-up shops” in the community as well as earn funds for trade education at a newly established art center, a source reported.

The drive was announced through several social media outlets and garnered 25,000 shares in the first 48 hours. More than 500 boxes were collected in three weeks. The items included clothing, materials, patterns, sewing machines, shoes and more. Some of the donations also included notes of encouragement for recipients, according to ELP’s Facebook page.

Kennards is a family-owned business based in Sydney. It opened its first self-storage facility in 1973 in Moorebank.

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