Helping ACT

Join us tonight from 6pm

is one of 11 charities selected for the 2026 Canberra Community Chest. An independent selection committee has selected these partners, with the 12th spot open to a People’s Choice vote to decide the final partner.

The Community Chest racing event is scheduled for 22 November and has a $50,000 community chest raised by Canberra Racing Club and Thoroughbred Park that will go to the selected charity and community partners.

Canberra Southern Cross Club has contributed an additional $15,000 to bring the chest pool to $65,000.

For more on the event including how to vote for the 12th partner go to https://region.com.au/canberra-community-chest-up-to-65k-seeking-12th-partner/1000413/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=daily&utm_campaign=2026-09-22

Just one of our weekly activities but vital for families and individuals who come to us for help.

You can help us to help others by donating to https://www.helpingact.org/donate



Every donation is gratefully received-no matter how large or how small. HelpingACT is primarily funded by donations and completely run by volunteers.

HelpingACT’s Breakfast Program for schools is one of the many community programs that HelpingACT delivers.

Over 500 school kids across 15 Canberra schools receive breakfast, fruits and some vegetables each week.

A great way to start the day, delivered by our wonderful volunteers each week of term.

He arrived in Australia in 1991 with a biochemistry gold medal from Karachi University. He spent two decades working for the Therapeutic Goods Administration. Then he retired — and instead of slowing down, he started feeding Canberra.

In 2018, Mohammed Ali founded HelpingACT. Today it runs weekly food hampers, breakfast programs in 10 schools and 2 colleges, community dinners, food pantries, Ramadan iftars and Christmas hampers — supporting refugees, asylum seekers, international students, domestic violence survivors and anyone in Canberra doing it tough. More than 50 volunteers stand behind him.

During the 2021 lockdown, he was personally thanked by the then Governor-General for keeping Canberrans fed. In 2022 he was named Canberra Citizen of the Year. This year, he received the Medal of the Order of Australia at Government House.

His words say it best: “Hunger has no belief, and poverty has no religion, so we cannot discriminate on the basis of colour or race.”

And when he was told about the honour, his first instinct wasn’t to celebrate himself — it was to point at everyone else: “Only one person is selected and awarded, actually it should be the whole group.”

That’s the Australia worth talking about. 🇦🇺



Sources:
- [Mohammed Ali OAM: HelpingACT founder honoured as need rises — Canberra Daily](https://canberradaily.com.au/mohammed-ali-oam-helpingact-founder-honoured-as-need-rises/)
- [Australia’s own Mohammed Ali recognised for service to community — AMUST](https://www.amust.com.au/2026/06/australias-own-mohammed-ali-recognised-for-service-to-community/)
- [Canberra community leader Mohammed Ali awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia — The Australia Today](https://www.theaustraliatoday.com.au/canberra-community-leader-mohammed-ali-awarded-the-medal-of-the-order-of-australia/)