A group of children in Buninyong are collecting small items that will have a big community impact.
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Maddie, 5, Sarah, 5, Lucy, 3, Tano, 11 and Ava, 8 have started a campaign to collect bottle caps, bread tags and donations for the Ballarat Soup Bus at the Buninyong Community Collective.
The bread tags will be donated to not-for-profit organisation Aussie Bread Tags for Wheelchairs, while the bottle caps will be donated to Envision Hands.
The bread tags are sold to recyclers and the money raised pays for wheelchairs for disabled people in need.
Envision Hands extrudes plastic bottle caps to create filament for 3D printers that is used to make prosthetic hands.
See how Envision makes prosthetic hands from bottle caps below.
Kristy Gainger, Buninyong Community Collective committee of management member and mother of Sarah and Lucy, said the collections aligned with the collective's values of supporting community and reducing waste.
"The collective is about local community coming together and this is that step further to understand it is not just about us but there are other people we can help," she said.
"It will help the children understand the idea of broader society, that it is not just us in our little bubble."
Tano, 11, said he and his sister Ava, 8, wanted to do something to help after seeing homeless people on a holiday to New Zealand.
Lucy, 3, and Sarah, 5, said they were sad when they learnt about homelessness so started the collection at their school.
Hayley Quach, Buninyong Community Collective committee of management member and mother of Tano and Ava, said it was an opportunity for the children to take ownership of running a collection for a good cause.
"They were really keen to do something so they jumped on this because collecting soup bus items is a chance to do a collection for local people and the bread tags and bottle caps were a bigger way they can support," she said.
According to Breadtags for Wheelchairs, it takes 200 kg of tags to bring in enough money to buy one wheelchair.
The childrens' school mates at St James' Parish School, Buninyong Primary School and Ballarat Steiner School will participate in the collection drive.
You can drop off bread tags, number two and four bottle caps, blankets, toiletries and non-perishable food to the Buninyong Community Collective on Tuesdays from 9am to 11am or 5pm to 7pm. You do not have to be a member of the collective to donate.
Other collection points are also available. Bottle caps can be dropped off at the Ballarat Envision site at 401 Lal Lal Street in Canadian.
Contact Cathy Noone on 0477 453 147 for details on where you can drop off bread tags in Ballarat.
The Ballarat Soup Bus accepts donations at the Ballarat East Community Men's Shed on the corner of Fussell and Eureka Streets every Saturday morning at 10:30am.