There’s Still Time To Donate Your Dine & Discover Vouchers To NSW Charities
12 million vouchers remain unused.
Dine & Discover vouchers may be expiring very soon, but there is still time to pay it forward and donate the vouchers to charity in NSW.
In case you’ve been ignoring every Service NSW email for the last two months, Dine & Discover vouchers are finally expiring at the end of June, after some generous extensions and expansions.
Dine & Discover vouchers were first introduced in October as a means to boost the economy and support small businesses after COVID-19, and a lengthy state-wide lockdown. Eligible community members were entitled to $150 worth of vouchers in total, comprised of three $25 Dine NSW Vouchers, and three $25 Discover NSW Vouchers — the latter to be used for entertainment and recreation purposes.
The state government revealed on Sunday that 12 million vouchers — worth over $300 million in value — are yet to be used, but confirmed June 30 is the last date the opt-in freebies will be valid for.
“The scheme won’t be extended, it has already been extended,” Customer Service Minister Victor Dominello told the ABC. “But there are some novel businesses in the charity sector that set up a framework where you can pay it forward, and I encourage people to do that.”
While the food vouchers are easy to work your way through on short notice, the discover vouchers are more of a commitment to see through, especially if your calendar is already chockers this week.
A number of participating charities are still accepting Discover NSW Vouchers before the deadline, paying it forward for vulnerable communities as a form of random acts of kindness.
- Australian Reptile Park will issue a double pass (one adult and one child) to participating charities including Ronald McDonald House, Challenge Community Services, Barnados Australia, and the Kids with Cancer Foundation
- Symbio Wildlife Park will also use the vouchers for kids in need with a double pass on your behalf
- Oakvale Wildlife Park, as above, is offering the same opportunity for sick children towards one in three charities
- Green Connect will use the funds to invite people in need to visit the farm, which focuses on unemployment and food waste in the area
- Matilda’s Farmyard Nursery are using the vouchers for visits to local special needs and aged care facilities around Illawara in regional NSW
- The Wheels4Kai fundraising effort is accepting Discover NSW Vouchers for their raffle, to raise funds for the 15-year-old’s replacement vehicle in Sydney’s Northern Beaches
- Ngalaya, which represents Indigenous lawyers and law students, will pool the voucher towards free student and community tickets to their first annual ball event in celebration of its 25th anniversary
You can also check out the voucher provider database, find a business in your area, and get in contact to see if they have a similar scheme in place. However, it’s important to note that you can only redeem one Discover NSW Voucher per person, per day — meaning there’s a short window of opportunity to pull this off. Get cracking!
Photo Credit: Michael Payne/Unsplash