The warehouse is buzzing. Volunteers are packing bags to the brim with everyday essentials – items the recipients would otherwise go without.

Among them is Vicky Young, President and co-founder of Dandelions WA. Since 2020, Young has been serving the community through the charity, supporting Western Australians in need.

“During COVID, the charity that we were volunteering with was unable to provide the assistance that was needed by so many,” Young says. “Somebody made their crazy statement of saying to us, ‘well, start your own if you want to help’. So here we are.”

Dandelions WA is run entirely by volunteers. Through public donations, Dandelions WA provides new essentials, including baby products, hygiene items and clothing, which are distributed across the state.

Young isn’t one to do what she does for recognition or awards. However, her commitment to supporting people in need with dignity has not gone unnoticed – she was named the City of Stirling’s Community Citizen of the Year at the start of the year.

Soon, the warehouse will be twice as busy and twice as full of boxes, with the start of the annual Back to School campaign. It runs across the summer months, providing disadvantaged children with the booklist for the school year, alongside other essentials.

Growing up in the Wheatbelt, Young saw the lack of access to school supplies in regional areas. “I’m a country girl at heart and regions are doing it so tough,” she says. “All those little towns, they’re getting smaller and smaller. You know, people in those towns become so transient. People in need are transient.”

According to the Australian Curriculum and Reporting Authority, attendance rates in major cities sat at 89.8 per cent in 2025, compared with 65.1 per cent in very remote areas. Young says improving access to school supplies in remote Western Australia will help improve attendance rates.

“In a small country town, students are given a booklist but there’s no shop. There’s just an IGA, so they can’t even buy what they need,” she says. “When you’re talking about families that are disadvantaged, parents don’t have the means or the education to order online.”

The Smith Family Pulse Survey 2025-26 found that 85.3 per cent of parents or carers were worried about meeting the rising cost of school essentials. For disadvantaged children, not having access to school essentials can affect their confidence even going to school.

Young is driven to change this for the better. “You give them a simple backpack, it gives them a little bit of excitement to be at school and feel like the other kids and want to keep going back because they’ve made friends and they fit in,” she says.  “It doesn’t matter how much the body aches and it does after four months (of Back to School), believe me. Every backpack is worth it.” 

She believes education is the first step in helping children break through generational disadvantage. “We talk about kids running into a service station and pinching a mince pie. They’re not pinching that pie for the hell of it. They’re pinching it because they’re hungry. So how do you get kids out of that horrid cycle? Education,” she says.  

“If we all pull together now and we put in the biggest effort we can… in 10 short years, we can break educational disadvantage.”

Samantha Jones has been volunteering with Dandelions WA for almost a year. She started during last year’s Back to School campaign after bumping into another volunteer while shopping for her own children’s school supplies.

“I remember she said, ‘I’m part of Dandelions and we are packing backpacks for underprivileged or disadvantaged kids that wouldn’t normally get to school with a fully stocked backpack,’ and I thought that’s a great idea and I never forgot,” Jones says.

“I just think education is so important because it can break the cycle for kids and families to get an education. Some of the stories, you just get emotional because you think kids that wouldn’t go to school, can now go to school with confidence.”

Jones says Young’s leadership and passion have helped strengthen Dandelions. “They’re a great bunch of ladies, it’s good fun and different ages and different backgrounds and everything. It’s such an excellent thing,” she says.

Dawn Lewis started at Dandelions three years ago after the loss of her husband. “I had six grandchildren and for five of them, for 23 years, I did drop-off and pick-ups. All a sudden I was at a loose end, I didn’t really know what to do with myself,” she says. “I don’t know about other people, but for me, (Dandelions) gives me a purpose.”

Young says families face heartbreaking disadvantage across Western Australia. “We know there is a cost of living crisis and we know there is a housing crisis. We can’t fix that… but does that mean we do nothing until the problem’s fixed?” she says.

“Somebody above us needs to identify how it can be sorted out. In the meantime, we’re supporting kids in the best way we can. Life can be tough and we know as adults how it can be tough at times. Why are our expectations so high of children?”

She says Dandelions WA will be there for Western Australians for as long as it’s needed. “On the same account, if we can close those doors tomorrow because we are no longer needed, my god, we’ll have a party,” Young says.

If there’s one thing she wants everyone to know, it’s that kindness is everything. “It doesn’t cost anything to be kind,” she says. “Don’t be judgmental. You just don’t know somebody’s circumstances. Don’t presume that you know why somebody is the way that they are.”

https://dandelionswa.org.au/