Games, music, food and fun are all part of what make birthday parties such a great time, and the presents of course. For the third year in a row, Canberra twins Asher and Ellie Barclay have chosen not to receive presents for themselves on their birthday. Instead, they ask for gifts to help those in need.

On their ninth birthday, the twins held a dog-themed party and asked for dog items they could donate to ACT Rescue and Foster and Rainbow Paws. For their tenth birthday, they celebrated Hogwarts style and received cat goods for Rainbow Paws.

This year, the gifts are a little more human-focused as they were inspired by none other than Taylor Swift.

“We wanted to donate to somewhere that gives food to other people like Taylor Swift does… She donates to the food bank,” says Asher.

Wanting to give local, mum Michelle stepped in to help research a food service they could give to close to home. She knew of the amazing work that Woden Community Service did and offered The Little Pantry as one of the suggestions.

“People come in and get the food they need… Some people can’t afford to buy food and they need to get food, so they come here,” says Asher.

Both dressing up in Taylor Swift theme – Ellie as the Reputation album and Asher as Taylor’s self-titled debut album – they invited 13 friends to share the day with them. Not wanting anything for themselves, they asked for items that could be donated to people in need at The Little Pantry.

“They brought pasta, canned foods and toilet paper… Mostly everyone brought two or three bags,” says Asher.

“Really good friends donated a lot, one person brought toilet paper and one bag… Our friends did so well,” says Ellie.

Open business hours Monday to Friday, The Little Pantry operates out of Woden Community Service. It is not uncommon for the small but mighty organisation to help feed 90 families each month. Leanne Heald, Executive Manager of the Mental Health and Community Access program at Woden Community Service, says the contribution by the twins will make a massive difference for them.

“It means the money we raise internally goes further. Donations mean we don’t have to buy those products, we can buy other things to stock our shelves for longer. Our shelves get emptied quite quickly because we have so many people in need,” says Leanne.

It wasn’t just grocery items the partygoers donated, some also gave cash donations which equalled $110, Leanne says that alone is half of their monthly food budget.

Customers of The Little Pantry are given a bag of groceries to help them through. The bags contain food appropriate to their culture and dietaries and help those who may have otherwise gone hungry.

“Anybody can come up and access food. They don’t need to present a health care card or a pension card because poverty doesn’t discriminate, so we have the same approach here,” says Leanne. “They can access the pantry once a month, get a bag full of essential items and they can also get additional items if they need to, through referring agencies.”

Hoping to soon have the ability to house refrigerated goods, right now the pantry focuses on products that can last a long time and go a long distance when creating meals. Unfortunately, that means they are currently unable to accept meat, frozen goods and fresh fruit and vegetables, but they always accept other donations that can help families in need.  

“Food that can be a simple meal, something that can last a while and it’s easy to make through a microwave or a toaster.  Canned products are really good, pasta and rice are fantastic. Long-life milk is always needed but also toiletries, toilet paper, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo and conditioner,” says Leanne.

During the party, Michelle asked the guests if they knew what the Little Pantry was and what it did, she was pleasantly surprised when all their hands shot up and answered that they help those in need.

“It was quite nice to see all the kids at the party getting on board with the cause, you could see that they too felt a part of this, it’s not just the girls doing it,” says Michelle.

In awe of her twin’s compassion, Michelle explains that the girls do this all on their own. They think of a theme for the party and who they want to donate to and then encourage those around them to be involved.

“I always feel so proud. As a kid, I would have never given up presents for donations, and every time I think about it, I want to cry. It is just so lovely. I love the people they are and the fact that they choose to do this,” says Michelle.

The majority of the party attendees have remained the same over the past few years and the giving spirit has rubbed off with one of their friends following suit.

“One girl called Stella did it for her birthday, she donated to cats. We were really happy,” says Asher.

Although the girls plan the party and decide who to donate to each year, they know they wouldn’t be able to do it without the ongoing support of their friends.

“My friends did really awesome by donating, they played a really big part in us doing it for a long time because if they hadn’t of donated and we only got one bag full from all of them, we wouldn’t have continued donating,” says Ellie.

The twins have no plans on slowing down with their generosity and have already decided that next year they will raise money for hospital equipment. While Michelle isn’t quite sure what the party will look like, Ellie is hopeful for explosions while Asher has some of her own ideas.

“We could get white coats, and everyone can have their own sticker with doctor and their name,” says Asher.

Whether you can give big or small, it is about helping those who would otherwise go without, and the girls believe that is far better than presents.

“You feel really good knowing you’re helping the community, the more people know about it the better it is because not many people donate,” says Ellie.

“You don’t realise but you have maybe given someone a meal or helped someone in a certain way but even though you don’t know this you can feel good about it because you have helped someone,” says Asher.

Be like Asher and Ellie and help out those in need at The Little Pantry; wcs.org.au

Canberra Daily is keen to hear from you about a story idea in the Canberra and surrounding region. Click here to submit a news tip.