Donate Your Data. Help Change Lives.

23 February 2026

Image credit: Supplied

When people think of hardship, they don’t always picture Australia’s Northern Beaches. But behind the coastal postcard lies a very different reality – one where food insecurity, social isolation and homelessness exist side by side with some of the country’s most affluent suburbs.

For some, that reality includes sleeping in cars, bushland, caves or on the beach. For others, it means choosing between groceries, rent or staying connected in a world that increasingly relies on digital access.

That’s where LocalKind comes in.

Video Player is loading.

Current Time 0:00

Duration 0:00

Loaded: 0%

Stream Type LIVE

Remaining Time 0:00

Video transcript

LocalKind is a place of last resort for many people. It was born in Manly in 1977. There is a lot of social housing on the Northern Beaches. There are people that are experiencing violence. There is a lot of rough sleeping. Many people sleeping in bush, in caves, on the beach. We're not an ED, we're not a hospital, but what we do is life saving. LocalKind is a community based service that seeks to respond to community needs through kindness. And kindness here looks like supporting people experiencing domestic and family violence, homelessness, food insecurity, social isolation, refugees and migrants and young people. So we often are the place of last resort for people that have fallen through the gaps, or they don't meet the criteria of other services. Even if we don't have the in-house service, we look to help usher people to find the service that best meets their needs. So it's not about turning people away. It's about welcoming them with open arms. We have our Domestic and Family Violence Service. We also have our Homelessness Support Service, our Youth Services, providing mentoring programs to young people. We have our Community Drop-In. You could say it's like the spoke in the wheel for all our other services. It's the doorway into every other service. We're so lucky that we have volunteers through the week who meet and greet visitors in our drop-in. We might give them a cuppa, a pastry, a smile, some food from our food pantry, or just have a joke. The sort of support that Optus gives enables us to do life saving work. It sucks that it happens, but a privilege that LocalKind can be a doorway to safety and to a life of not just living but thriving. LocalKind, we felt, offered really valuable services to the community. We could see that the people that worked there cared deeply, and we just wanted to make sure that they could keep doing what they were doing for the local community. We have bags like this delivered from One Meal, which we then distribute out to the community and then also from OzHarvest. And then our amazing volunteers bag all these up and make packages to give out to people on a Wednesday. You'd be surprised by next week this will be - All gone? Pretty bare. Roll over again. Yeah, it's a constant churn. Our relationship with Optus has both been surprising and profound. They have provided us with financial aid to help support our services to keep running. They've also provided the Donate Your Data program. The Donate Your Data program has been an important bridge for those that are living in poverty, violence, settling into Australia, to access the digital world. Donate Your Data has impacted a client, we'll call her, Susie. Now Susie was being financially controlled and denied access to all money from her partner. Having the Donate Your Data meant that she could access emails, she could fill out forms, internet banking... If she didn't have that, Where would she be? Donate Your Data is a long standing program of Optus, and it was built of a mindset of trying to provide access to digital services for those who may not necessarily be able to afford it The genesis is that Optus customers have the ability to donate a portion of their unused monthly data allowance back to us every month. We then package that up in the form of a prepaid SIM that has 20GB of data on it, unlimited calls, unlimited texts. And then we topped that up with 40GB of data that is donated back by Optus customers. And then we distribute it back out through those charity partners, such as LocalKind, to get in the hands of those more vulnerable Australians. So over at Brookvale, we're proud to have our Multicultural Service, which supports people in their journey into settling into Australia. So at LocalKind Multicultural Services, we work with people from when they first arrive all the way up to citizenship. On the Northern Beaches we have people from 136 different cultural backgrounds. We have programs such as our Driving Program, Learn to Swim Program, Homework Club and Citizenship Program. It's so important for us that Optus have chosen to partner with us as a local community based organisation because through a program like Donate Your Data, it takes the financial pressure off families and it really helps them to thrive. Having that access to reliable data helps people to apply for jobs, help their kids with homework, and keep in touch with people. It's an enormous privilege for me as someone who grew up in this area, to welcome people to this country and a place that I'm so familiar with. And when I see someone in the street who I've assisted in the past, seeing them thriving and flourishing, there's nothing like it.

LocalKind is a community based organisation providing practical, on the ground support to people experiencing hardship across Sydney’s Northern Beaches. Their services span emergency food relief, social connection programs and direct assistance to individuals and families doing it tough.

“We are not an emergency department or a hospital, but what we do is lifesaving,” says Craig Stevens, CEO, LocalKind.

While LocalKind may not operate a hospital, the impact of their work is profound – helping people stay safe, supported and connected during some of the most challenging moments of their lives.

Optus is proud to support LocalKind through a combination of financial assistance, helping essential services continue, and the Donate Your Data (DYD) program.

Through DYD, Optus customers donate their unused mobile data each month. This customer- donated data is bundled into 40GB on prepaid SIMs with unlimited calls and texts, and then topped with an additional 20GB contributed by Optus, creating a powerful digital lifeline for people who need it most.

For LocalKind clients, this access is transformational. From applying for jobs and accessing government services to helping children with schoolwork or simply staying connected to community, data enables people to participate fully in modern life.

The initiative enables Optus customers with an eligible mobile plan to donate some of their data.

Donate a portion of your monthly data allowance if you're an eligible Optus customer with one of the options below.

Donate in your My Optus App

Customers can donate data via My Optus app, tap the banner and then use the slider at the bottom of the screen to donate any remaining data before the end of the month. If they want to donate again in the future, they can simply donate from their remaining data.

If you’re on an eligible Optus Prepaid plan, simply SMS the word 'donate' to 4567 to receive instructions on how to donate.

^{Available to eligible Postpaid & Prepaid mobile customers only. Donation not reversible.}