Where Your Kebab Goes: Our August Foundation Update

At Kebabs on Bell, we’ve always believed that being part of a community means doing more than simply serving good food.

Over the years, we’ve supported people, organisations and projects whenever we’ve seen an opportunity to help. More recently, we made that commitment part of the business: $1 from every kebab we sell goes towards a charity, community initiative or project we support.

August was the first full month we began properly tracking that commitment, and we want to share these updates so our customers can see exactly where their kebabs are helping.

3,202 Kebabs Sold in August

Throughout August, we sold 3,202 kebabs, meaning $3,202 was generated through our $1-per-kebab commitment.

Our Foundation records for the period show $16,285.27 in donations and project contributions, as we continued funding work that had already begun before the $1-per-kebab initiative officially started.

That support has gone towards causes here in Melbourne as well as projects we’ve been working on in Lombok, Indonesia.

Supporting Our Local Community

Giving back starts close to home.

Kebabs on Bell has been part of Heidelberg West for years, and the local community has played a huge role in supporting our family and our business. One of the organisations we continue to support is BANSIC, which works directly with people and families experiencing hardship in our community.

We currently contribute $200 each fortnight towards BANSIC’s work. We also previously contributed approximately $300 worth of food towards a BANSIC sausage sizzle, it’s the little things that count and any support you can provide to them will make a huge difference to those in need of food and basic supplies.

On 9 August, we also contributed $300 worth of food towards a sausage sizzle in Fairfield supporting children with disabilities.

We encourage you to reach out to these organisations and see where you can support them. See the foundation page of our website for more details.

Building a School in Lombok

A major part of our Foundation work has been supporting a community in Areguling, Lombok.

Our connection with the village started after Furkan visited Lombok and met a local driver, Harun. Furkan asked to visit his village, and seeing the community firsthand eventually led to him returning with his father and looking at ways Kebabs on Bell could provide more meaningful, long-term support.

One of the biggest projects to come from that relationship has been helping to build a school.

Before the building was there, the local teacher was restricted in teaching children as there was limited space available, so he used what he could, including in his home and the local mosque. We wanted to help give them a permanent place to learn.

During August, three major transfers were made towards the school and related infrastructure: $7,506.91 on 14 August for the first stage and water well, another $4,396.47 for stage two, followed by $3,581.89 on 22 August for stage three.

The result is a proper concrete school building that can accommodate groups of around 30–40 students.

On our most recent trip, we also purchased around $1,000 worth of books, textbooks, pencils, stationery, whiteboard markers and other classroom supplies so the teachers and students had what they needed to actually use the space.

For us, that’s one of the most rewarding parts. The teacher and students were already there. We were simply able to help give them a space and resources to expand and improve what they were already doing.

More Than Just a Water Well

Alongside the school, we’ve also helped fund a water well and filtration system for the community.

The idea behind the well is not only to provide access to clean, filtered water, but to create something sustainable.

With the filtration system, the community can bottle and potentially sell the water locally, allowing money generated from the project to be reinvested back into the village.

That’s something we want to focus on more as the Foundation grows. We don’t just want to provide short-term support. Where possible, we want to help create opportunities that communities can continue building on themselves.

What Comes Next

There’s still plenty we want to do.

In Lombok, we’ve been working with a local nurse, Imelda, to provide medical supplies, aids and treatment to people who need them. Having someone on the ground means we can better understand where support is needed and put resources towards things that can genuinely help.

One of our bigger goals for the future is to help establish a medical clinic so people can have better access to doctors, nurses and treatment.

We’re also exploring ideas such as establishing a café or small business that could create employment and generate income within the local community.

These are longer-term goals, but they’re the direction we hope to keep moving in.

Every Kebab Plays a Part

We know when most people walk into Kebabs on Bell, they’re here because they want a quality kebab - and we’re pretty happy with that.

We contribute on your behalf and if you want to make additional donations we suggest contacting the organisations directly. Or just enjoy your kebab knowing it’s making a difference in peoples lives.

From our side, we’ll continue putting $1 from every kebab sold towards the charities, communities and projects we support.

As the Foundation grows, we want to keep sharing these updates so our community can be involved in these worthy causes.

Thanks for eating with us - and helping us give a little back along the way.