Image: Puddle Jumpers Hindmarsh.
Two weeks after a devastating fire destroyed its Hindmarsh base, Puddle Jumpers has raised more than $26,000 towards its recovery, but the Adelaide charity is still facing one of its biggest challenges yet: finding somewhere new to call home.
The support from South Australians has helped Puddle Jumpers begin replacing some of what was lost, but a suitable new premises remains urgently needed for the organisation, which supports around 1,500 families each week.
“Ideally, we need a large warehouse/op shop style premises with room for retail, storage, sorting donations, volunteers and program equipment,” Puddle Jumpers Founder and CEO Melanie Tate said.
“If any Glam Adelaide readers know of a suitable warehouse/shopfront space in Adelaide – particularly through the western suburbs and surrounding areas – we would really love them to get in touch,” Tate said.
The need for a new site comes after fire tore through the Hindmarsh building housing Puddle Jumpers’ op shop and operational space, as well as restaurant Hot and Spicy.
For Puddle Jumpers, the loss went far beyond its retail operation.
“It is difficult to even put into words what was inside that building. It wasn’t simply an op shop,” Puddle Jumpers Founder and CEO Melanie Tate said.
“As well as all of the donated stock, fixtures and equipment needed to run the shop, it was a major storage and operational space.”
Among the items lost were camping equipment, tents, camp chairs, wagons, torches, sporting equipment, children’s dress-ups, bikes, trestle tables, mirrors, Christmas presents, household packs and prams.
There were also pieces of the charity’s history that cannot be replaced, including “banners and memorabilia from some of our earliest camps and pieces of Puddle Jumpers history that had been collected over many years,” Tate said.
“Puddle Jumpers supports around 1,500 families each week across our services, so losing both the physical resources and the ongoing income from the shop has a much wider impact than the building itself,” she added.
While its Fire Recovery Appeal has now raised more than $26,000, Puddle Jumpers is also seeking practical help from businesses and organisations that may be able to assist with replacement equipment, fit-out, shelving, security systems, transport, storage and building services.
Any future site will also need enough space to accommodate the corporate groups, schools and community volunteers who regularly work alongside the organisation.
For the volunteers and staff who spent thousands of hours building the Hindmarsh operation, the past fortnight has been difficult, but Tate said the community response had been immediate.
“The fire was devastating, particularly for our volunteers and staff who had put thousands and thousands of hours into making that space what it was,” Tate said.
“But almost immediately, people started showing up.
“People have arrived with food, flowers, hugs and donations. Businesses have offered practical help. Volunteers have asked what they can do. People who were involved with Puddle Jumpers years ago have reached out.”
“We have had support from right across South Australia, and at a time when we could very easily have felt completely defeated, our community has reminded us why Puddle Jumpers exists in the first place.”
Hot and Spicy is also continuing its search for a new location after the same fire forced the restaurant from its Hindmarsh home.
The business is asking customers and the wider community to keep an eye out for a suitable restaurant or hospitality site in the area.
“One of the biggest ways people can support us right now is by continuing to follow Hot and Spicy, sharing our updates and spreading the word that we are working towards reopening,” the team said.
Hot and Spicy said it had also been inundated with support since the fire.
“Every message of support has meant a lot to us and our team during this difficult time,” the restaurant said.
“This is an incredibly difficult chapter for us, but this is not the end of Hot and Spicy,” the team said.
“We are already searching for a new location and doing everything we can to come back as soon as possible.”
For Puddle Jumpers, the focus is now firmly on rebuilding while continuing to provide its services to South Australian families.
“I think the biggest thing we would like people to know is that the fire destroyed a building, but it didn’t destroy Puddle Jumpers,” Tate said.
“We are still here.
“Families still need food. Children still need camps and positive experiences. Young people still need people who believe in them. Parents doing it tough still need somewhere they can turn without judgement.
“We will rebuild.
“But right now, we genuinely need South Australia behind us.”
“We have spent more than 14 years building Puddle Jumpers with this community, and seeing South Australians rally around us when we need them has meant more than I can possibly explain.”
Puddle Jumpers’ Fire Recovery Appeal remains open, with donations helping the organisation replace lost equipment and resources while the search for a new home continues.
Click here to donate to the Puddle Jumpers Fire Recovery Appeal, and click here to get in touch with Puddle Jumpers.
To contact Hot and Spicy, click here.
