Catholic Religious Australia (CRA) has joined a coalition of 44 Catholic leaders, including 14 religious institute leaders, who have written to the Prime Minister advocating for the most vulnerable people in our community to receive government support as the impacts of COVID-19 continue to wreak havoc. To read the letter to the Prime Minister, click here.

The Victorian Council for Social Service and the Department of Health and Human Services are running a second information forum about the ongoing sector response to the COVID-19 outbreak. This digital-only forum will be held on Wednesday 29 April vcoss.org.au/live. Participants are asked to register so you can be sent slides and reference materials (etc) both before and after the session. Register now.

The Victorian Council of Social Services (VCOSS) releases a regular bulletin with latest news and information related to the community services sector and COVID-19. The latest update, released 22 April 2020, covers the Federal Senate Inquiry to scrutinise Australia's response to COVID-19 (which has begun accepting submissions on any matter relating to this broad topic); the Federal Health Department has released a formal Management and Operational Plan for People with Disability during COVID-19; and the Disability Royal Commission is seeking information about the experiences of people with disability during COVID-19 and the recent summer bushfires. Plus much more!

MacKillop Family Services' annual #Paws4Kids campaign aims to raise funds to help kids who've been through childhood trauma to feel safe and to learn again by using therapy dogs. Any donations made on Wednesday 22 April will be tripled until MacKillop reaches its goal of $300,000 so donors will have 3x the impact making a donation to the campaign.