Anywise, a small local Melbourne business specialising in professional problem solving, stepped up to the plate when larger companies and personalities were still talking, not acting.
Those who produce nothing but hot air aren’t going to get things done.
If you haven’t seen the Twitter exchanges flying back and forth on the 7th of June, take a seat and strap yourselves in. It started with a Banana statue, talk of a charitable donation to help feed those in need, and a healthy dose of competitive fun.
Here are the facts:
A statue of a banana with a skull-face once resided in Melbourne’s Fitzroy on bustling Rose Street.
Some of the locals did not seem to like this statue, there was even an attempt to behead it. It has since been removed and stored by the local council @YarraCouncil. #bananagate
Comedian and the face of Last Week Tonight, John Oliver suggested the Yarra Council give him the statue and he would donate $10,000 to Foodbank Victoria and $5,000 to another charity. He would also send a statue of an Aligator ‘flipping the bird’ to replace the Banana.
A twitter account by the name of @RandomSelector then decided to turn the heat up. They suggested that Yarra Council keep the statue and also donate the $10,000 to Foodbank Victoria regardless.
Yarra Council has resisted, stating they’re not ready to part with the statue yet.
Seeing that potentially no one truly in need would benefit after all this, Anywise stepped up. Donating $10,000 would mean a total of 20,000 meals would be given to to those in need throughout our local community. We just couldn’t let that slip by.
And the rest is history.
A total of $10,000 was donated by Anywise to Foodbank Victoria on Tuesday 7th June. When people need to choose between staying warm this winter or eating a meal on the daily, that is simply not good enough.
Philanthropy is a core value to Anywise. Having recently recertified their B-Corp, it is important that organisations everywhere realise the power they can wield. Even businesses with staff in the single digits when compared to those flexing a workforce of many thousand, can make a huge impact in the world and their local community when they work together. The power of collaboration is often underestimated.
Working on Purpose Diven Projects is important to Anywise, so much so that we have a pro-bono service called AIDE (Assist, Inform, Develop, Affect). Charities, NPOs, community groups, or simply those needing a helping hand. Learn more about our any.AIDE service here.
We’re hopeful both the Yarra Council and John Oliver will match our donation to Foodbank, regardless of the banana’s final residence. A total of $30,000 would provide 60,000 meals for people in need. That would truly be an amazing feat.
Remember, even if you are just one person you can change the world. Learn more about who Foodbank are and the wonderful work they do here.
Contact us if you'd like to learn more about the work we do and how we can help you with your projects.