Community
We believe communities are strongest when people look after one another, share what they can and create opportunities for others.
Mission & Values
Community will look after community.
The purpose and principles that guide WAssup Community Services.
Our mission
Practical, grassroots action that strengthens community.
WAssup exists to strengthen communities through practical, grassroots action. We connect people, ideas and resources to create opportunities for participation, creativity, connection and belonging — particularly for young people, people experiencing disadvantage, and communities that may otherwise miss out.
Our belief is simple: Community will look after community.
We believe meaningful change does not always require large organisations, complicated systems or enormous budgets. Sometimes it starts with noticing a need, listening to the people who understand it best, and doing something practical about it.
Our values
What guides the work.
Dignity
People should be treated with respect, not as problems to be solved or stories to be exploited. Assistance should preserve dignity, choice and independence.
Inclusion
Everyone should have the opportunity to participate, contribute, create and belong. We particularly value spaces where young people, people living with disability, people experiencing hardship and people who may feel excluded elsewhere are welcomed.
Creativity
Music, art, storytelling, performance and creative expression can bring people together in ways that formal systems sometimes cannot. We recognise creativity as a genuine community resource.
Practical Action
We prefer doing something useful over simply talking about what should be done. WAssup focuses on achievable, practical projects that can make a tangible difference.
Community Knowledge
Local people and organisations usually understand their own communities better than outsiders do. Where WAssup provides resources, we respect the recipient organisation's judgement about how those resources can best serve its community.
Trust
Wherever reasonably possible, we operate on trust rather than unnecessary bureaucracy. Trust also comes with responsibility: we expect honesty, fairness and respect from everyone involved.
Transparency
We aim to be open about what WAssup does, how money is raised, what it is spent on and what our projects achieve. If we make a mistake, we believe in acknowledging it and correcting it.
Independence
WAssup is community-driven. We are prepared to work with individuals, businesses, governments, community organisations and other groups where doing so helps the community, while retaining our independence and purpose.
Accountability
Supporters and recipient organisations should be able to see where a project stands. WAssup distinguishes between plans, confirmations, funds held, purchases made and deliveries completed, and corrects public information when it needs updating.
One useful act at a time
Small does not mean unaccountable.
Being grassroots does not remove the obligation to be careful, transparent and responsible — and it does not remove the ability to do something useful.