LOCAL BUSINESS RAISES DOUGH FOR HOMELESS
Darling Downs business owners, Robert Gillis and Rob Sampson today announced they are hoping to raise some significant dough for local charities Tony’s Community Kitchen, Orange Sky Laundry and Base Services with a fundraiser to coincide with the opening of the pair’s first OMG!
Decadent Donuts storefront, located in the Australia Arcade in Ruthven Street.
Robert and Rob’s amazing donuts have been created to be inclusive so that as many people as possible can enjoy the treat. OMG! Decadent Donuts are not only delicious but also free from gluten, egg, dairy, nuts, wheat, yeast and sulphites and they are vegan. All Australian made and owned and with no artificial nasties, these donuts offer a new level of delicious decadence for many people who otherwise can’t enjoy such a treat due to allergies, intolerances or preferences and are enjoyed by everyone who loves a bit of scrumptiousness.
Robert and Rob have been supplying their donuts to volunteers and guests of local charities when and where they can and have seen first-hand the increase in homelessness throughout the Darling Downs over recent years.
“The stats show us that there are close to 1000 homeless people in this region.
Robert Gillis
In addition to that, some of the guests of these charities are not yet homeless, but to maintain a home, they just can’t afford to feed themselves and their families.”
A 2023 report by the Queensland Council of Social Services (QCOSS) showed the latest figures show a marked rise in homelessness by 22% across the board in Queensland, but that percentage increase is even higher in regional areas and currently is at 29%.
All three of these charities do important work in the local community. Since its inception, Tony’s Community Kitchen has supplied 75,000 nutritious dinner meals and operates 7 days per week, 365 days a year. Base Services focuses on supplying lunch via its soup kitchen and also a safe haven for people in need so that they can obtain support and to develop life skills and then there is the extraordinary Orange Sky which provides mobile laundry and showers and a conversational shoulder and community connection to the many people impacted by homelessness.
The community focused Robert and Rob are generous not only in giving away their donuts to these charities, but also now raising dough (pun intended). Rob said “We are always looking for ways to give back to our local community in a meaningful way, so to celebrate the opening of our new shopfront, we are donating $1 for every donut bought by a consumer in our opening week. We’re hoping to raise some real dough for each of the three charities”.
The utterly delicious donuts are made hot and fresh and dusted in infused sugars made from whole fruit, vegetable and spices. They have proven to be hugely popular for everyone regardless of if they have food intolerances, allergies or prefer a plant-based diet.
Rob is personally gluten free and Robert’s son also has to follow a gluten free diet with both becoming extremely unwell if the consume gluten. “From our personal first hand experience, we know how hard it can be to be on restrictive diet and what we both love most about our OMG!
Decadent Donuts business is how inclusive it is and seeing people’s faces who might not have been able to eat a donut for a long time due to allergy or who are Coeliac and they bite into one of our donuts and exclaim ‘OMG it’s a donut that tastes like a donut!’. That happens all the time!
When we first started here in Toowoomba, we were mostly operating at farmers type markets, community events like fetes and festivals. Even with the shop now open, we will continue to do those events, but the shop will enable us to fill the demand of deliveries and catering as well” Rob said, “We’re getting enquiries for everything from birthday parties to office morning and afternoon teas to weddings for these inclusive treats.”
OMG! Decadent Donuts is one of the most highly accredited food businesses in Australia with endorsements, accreditations and certifications from Coeliac Australia, Vegan Australia, Kosher Australia and Halal Authority of Australia.
The donuts are delicious on their own but are made even more decadent by being dusted in a unique selection of bespoke sugars which have been infused with dehydrated and ground whole fruits, spices and vegetables, all grown in Australia and with nothing artificial. There are currently 12 fun and unique sugar combinations such as Beet-a-licious which is beetroot, coconut milk, cinnamon and ginger, Dusty Queen – featuring cinnamon and naval oranges, Spicy Ranga – ginger, cinnamon, black pepper, cardamom, cloves and Coffee Coffee Yum Yum.
The people of the Darling Downs are invited to visit the new OMG! Decadent Donuts shop and help Robert and Rob raise some dough.
