Alethea Gold

CHARITY WORK

Besides Alethea's professional work, Alethea uses her extraordinary talents to drive her passion and desire to help underprivileged children worldwide. Using her amazing connections internationally, she has raised millions of dollars for many children's charities globally. Alethea currently works as a Global Goodwill Ambassador for SmartAID - volunteering in disaster zones around the world.

UKRAINE REFUGEES: MOLDOVA, POLAND & ROMANIA

Alethea and SmartAID have been working together to help Ukrainian refugees. SmartAID has so far delivered generators to over 30 hospitals in Ukraine, as well as sent head gear with lights attached for doctors, and front line workers. SmartAID has been working with the Ukraine ministry of education and started an online school program for Ukrainian children to be able to learn with their teachers, and communicate with their displaced friends. This school program is now at over 200 smart classrooms across Poland, Moldova, Turkey and Ukraine.

This past winter, Alethea and SmartAID delivered thousands of blankets, solar generators, and other warm items when Ukraine need it most. Just one of the shipments was over 18 shipping containers filled with medical supplies, food, and other desperately needed items.

Most recently Alethea and SmartAID have sourced and delivered winter essentials to an aged care home, and a boys home for children with disabillities.

TURKEY

The 2023 earthquake in Turkey has been a big mission for Alethea and SmartAID.  Aid from Australia was airfreighted by DHL to a purpose built field hospital closest to the earthquake, as well as “Container City” (an enormous refugee camp for displaced people).

Alethea and SmartAID worked with the help of friends and volunteers, as well the Turkish Consul-General in Sydney Mr Ali Sevim who had his whole consulate, and a large group of the local Turkish community come in to help! Together they worked tirelessly packing and labelling the aid ready for its departure. Two giant (4 x ton) DHL trucks were filled, with 11 pallets of sleeping bags, blankets, head lights, solar lights phone chargers, water purifiers, baby necessities, maternity clothes, and tents, as well as 10 pallets of medical supplies.

Alethea recently returned from the earthquake region in Turkey, where she oversaw the aid being delivered and distributed to four tent cities, and one container city. Whilst on the ground, Alethea/SmartAID also helped to set up twelve smart classes for displaced students to be able to finish their exams and schooling for the year

BANGLADESH

Alethea and SmartAID (thanks to their friends at DHL) delivered solar powered lights with attached phone chargers to Cox Bazar - the largest refugee camp in the world for Rohingya refugees. Thanks to these lights, refugees are able to eat dinner with a light, and the children can read at night. These lights also help keep women and children safe, when they go to the bathrooms at night.

FLOODS AUSTRALIA - BALLINA & LISMORE

Alethea and SmartAID arranged to help Human Nature Adventure Therapy, whose property was flooded, leaving hundreds of young adults without the support they needed. This NGO in Ballina provides mental health support to young people in the Far North Coast of NSW who otherwise wouldn’t be able to access it. Through her network of donors, Alethea arranged a Starlight dish (for permanent WIFI), a generator so that they didn’t lose electricity again, as well as several units of Karcher cleaning equipment - all of which was urgently delivered by DHL. These disadvantaged youths used the cleaning equipment to get their centre back in order, and furthermore helped cleaning all over the town of Lismore. As a result, they had planned to start a cleaning business which they will run under the supervision of the leaders of Human Nature Adventure Therapy.

Alethea also arranged for mosquito spray and pet food to be donated. Due to the floods the supermarket shelves were empty. Alethea partnered with DHL to deliver everything, especially as some people were stuck, and unable to leave their homes.

SmartAID and Alethea organised Solar power to be erected on top of 'Resilient Lismore’ - a local NGO/Charity that looks after people in need in the community. This has helped them enormously to bring down electricity costs.

TONGA

After Tonga’s Volcano erupted, and the Tsunami that followed, Alethea called the honorary consul to Tonga to offer support. With SmartAID, she arranged $150,000 (AUST dollars) of Karcher cleaning equipment to be donated and partnered with DHL to do so. Alethea also arranged three containers of medical equipment, donated by MedEarth.

AFRICAN STEM CENTRES: SOUTH SUDAN, ETHIOPIA, RWANDA, GHANA, KENYA, SOUTH AFRICA, ZIMBABWE, UGANDA, CAMEROON, MOZAMBIQUE, BURUNDI, LIBERIA, SIERRA LEONE, DRCONGO, SOMALIALAND

Alethea working closely together with SmartAID, STEMPOWER and DHL Express, arranged for computer and other special equipment needed to teach STEM, to be delivered and be distributed to all the above STEM centres.

This STEM program is life changing for these youths, providing them with opportunity of a life and future they could never have dreamt of. We now have over 105 STEM centres in 16 countries in Africa open for high school and university youths.

AFGHANISTAN

When the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, Alethea worked tirelessly day and night to help a friend in horrific danger from the Taliban in Kabul. She managed to assist getting his family of 25 people secretly out of Afghanistan across the border, and into Pakistan. In just four months, Alethea managed to get Australian Humanitarian Visas for three of the family to travel to Australia, to be with their husband/father - who they hadn’t seen since before the start of the Covid pandemic. Alethea is still working on getting the rest of the family our of Pakistan to a safe country.

SIERRA LEONE

Alethea with SmartAID donated solar radios with school system pre-installed to teach the children. DHL helped transport these radios from the east, to Sierra Leone in Africa.

NORTHERN IRAQ / KURDISTAN

Working with Operation Hope, Australia, Alethea coordinated the delivery of a container of donated Medical equipment to five hospitals in Kurdistan, Northern Iraq. Alethea’s passion to help the Yazidi’s has continued over many years, and many missions. SmartAID arranged logistics alongside DHL in their continued support with deliveries.

PERU

Alethea and SmartAID arranged for DHL to fly Solar Powered lights to remote areas of Amazonian jungle area in Peru, where there was no electricity. One elderly lady that received a light had previously walked four hours to charge her phone so that she could call her children. Now she has her own light with her own solar powered phone charger.

BEIRUT, LEBANON

When SmartAID learned of the Beirut Port explosion, Alethea went into overdrive in order to get medical equipment to Karantina Hospital, the hospital which was closest to the port. She successfully coordinated five pallets from Miami and another five pallets from Sydney - full to the brim with medical equipment. Alethea counted every medical screw, hundreds of them, plus hundreds of syringes, oxygen concentrators, crutches, paediatric medical equipment and more. She worked day and night to get it all there, safely through customs and delivered to the hospital in need.

USA: LOS ANGELES, SEATTLE, WASHINGTON STATE, NAVAHO TRIBE, CITY OF KENT

When Covid number escalated in the USA, Alethea together with her SmartAID team organised 1 million children’s masks to each city above. DHL drove these children’s masks across state to make sure they were delivered to the right charities in order to help underprivileged kids.

INDIA

During the biggest peak of Covid in India, Alethea worked tirelessly with the SmartAID team, DHL and Blue Dart (locally) to deliver close to 4,000 OXYGEN CONCENTRATORS.

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

SmartAID donated and delivered face shields, hand sanitisers and masks to Papua New Guinea.

SOUTH AFRICA

Alethea coordinated the logistics for 5,000 medical grade face shields (donated by Toyota Australia to SmartAID) to be sent to Cape Town charity, IKAMVA LABANTU, for their front line workers to keep them safe during the COVID pandemic.

COVID 19 - FACE SHIELDS, MELBOURNE

Toyota Australia designed and donated state-of-the-art face shields, that Brite manufactured. Locked in NSW, Alethea organised and coordinated a team of volunteers to deliver them to front line medical people in need in Melbourne. Without the help of DHL Melbourne Alethea and SmartAID could not have achieved what they did. The Royal Flying Doctors Service (pics below) is one of the many front line workers who received these amazing face shields.

COVID 19 - PPE AND FOOD DELIVERIES, SYDNEY - PRESS ARTICLE

Alethea was in lockdown during COVID in Sydney, and worked long days and nights in timezones purchasing PPE. As the Global Goodwill Ambassador of SmartAID she delivered it to doctors, front line responders and hospitals all over Sydney. She concentrated on three things PPE: FACE SHIELDS, GOGGLES (medical grade anti fog airtight on the face) and HAZMAT SUITS…  Special thanks to DHL Sydney and DHL global and to the Victor Smorgon Charitable Fund who put their hand up to help in every way! Not only did they help by donating masks, they also helped financially, and they spoke to other donors to help as well. Alethea worked non stop with Dr Robert Hackett a Sydney anaesthetist whose the founder of Patient Safe Network psnetwork.org to buy all the PPE for who ever needed it. Alethea did many of the deliveries some with Dr Rob Hackett and many with the help of DHL She did it to help everyone stay safe!

Alethea also teamed up with Jordan Abram a local Sydney guy from the Char Rotisserie a local organic chicken shop. Jordan brought hundred’s of soup and together they delivered SOUP and PPE to people in need.   Alethea and Jordan delivered and cooked for hospitals, homeless, parents of children in ICU and the emergency room in children’s hospitals, aged care homes, safe houses for abused women,  places for homeless men, Hatzolah first responders emergency ambulances, Aboriginal Health Care workers and many others. Pics below...

COVID-19: MASKS TO PHILIPPINES

Victor Smorgon Charitable Fund donated 10,000 masks to smartAID. Alethea together with DHL coordinated the delivery to much needed places in The Philippines. Thanks to DHL, the masks arrived in Manilla in record time and were delivered to the Alaya Foundation, who are handling the distribution. Pics below.

COVID- 19: USA - DHL worked at breakneck speed to deliver masks from China to Miami. Alethea used all her connections to arrange distribution, while DHL Express handled the logistics, and expedited shipping. The masks were delivered to Dr Alison Thompson, the founder of Third Wave Volunteers (medical and non-medical volunteers who respond to mass casualty incidents) in Miami in just three days! They also delivered masks to thousands of doctors in New York.

KANGAROO ISLAND, AUSTRALIA Alethea and her SmartAID team of 10 Israeli’s worked alongside the Australian Fire Service, the army, and BlazeAID - a group specialising in rebuilding fences for farmers. The atmosphere was heavy with such a large part of the country still on fire, and locals on this island returning to discover they had lost everything. Some were living in tents on their property looking at their burnt down homes and everyone wore masks to protect themselves from the poor air quality.

ABACO ISLAND, THE BAHAMAS Following the destruction of August 2019 Hurricane Dorian, Alethea went with a smartAID team to Abaco island. DHL transported Little Sun solar lights from Germany, and thousands of water purifiers from China, hygiene packs from San Diego, and Solar panels, telecommunications, and tools for the team to hand out. On the mainland Nassau, and also on the island of Grand Bahama, they gifted solar lights to children, hygiene packs for women in evacuation centres and people sleeping in churches, as well as pellets for dengue fever. The evacuation centres were mainly in gymnasiums housing up to 1000 people in each. The lights helped people feel safe at night, especially when they went to the bathroom.

Alethea’s smartAID team built a hub for other NGO’s to work safely. They provided 30 beds, telecommunications, a washing machine/dryer, solar shower and a petrol pump. Some had brought cars onto the island but no one had petrol. Thanks to the Smartaid team, the NGO’s were able work effectively and safely.

NOT MUCH WAS LEFT’: SMARTAID GOODWILL AMBASSADOR ON HURRICANE DORIAN DAMAGE - PRESS ARTICLE

SULAWESI, INDONESIA In October, 2018 a horrific Tsunami hit Palu, Sulawesi. Buildings crumbled. Thousands of people died. Over 5,000 people were missing. Several days later a massive earthquake hit around the city. Houses and buildings fell down. After the earthquakes came many unexpected hair-raising landslides and then finally as if that wasn’t enough, the people of Palu had a liquefaction. People watched as an entire village was sucked up into the ground. Not many foreign aid was allowed into Palu.

iAID / SmartAID successfully sent a team lead by Alethea Gold into Palu to deliver over 5,000 SOLAR POWERED LANTERNS and WATER PURIFIERS.

Teamed up with 2 local NGO’s YUM and SELPI WONGKOMO’s NGO reaching villages in remote hillsides that no one else had reached. They carried their lights and water purifiers on the back of many motor bikes that travelled 7 kilometres straight up a mountain, and got them to the most remote villages where there was no light and no electricity.

ZIV HOSPITAL, SYRIA Alethea travelled with iAID to the spiritual and mystical town of Tzvat in Northern Israel, where they met with the head of Ziv hospital, Dr. Salmon Zarka. This incredible Arab Druze man was a Colonel in the army who retired for one day before he took over Ziv Medical Centre.  In recent years, Ziv Hospital has provided humanitarian treatment to over 5,000 Syrian refugees.

Every night in Syria, men, women and children have been walking in the dark to the border of Israel.  Near the Golan Heights they are met by Israeli's who take them to a local field hospital to receive basic medical treatment, food and clothes.  If emergency treatment is needed an ambulance or helicopter takes them to Ziv Medical Centre.

Ziv consists of Jewish, Druze, Muslim and Christian medics, staff and volunteers working side by side, as they treat patients of all religions and backgrounds. Patients aren't asked if they’re fighters, refugees, why or how they became injured.  The atmosphere in the hospital feels like one big family.

One of the many stories was of an 8 year old Syrian girl. A victim of Asaad’s regime, she had already lost one leg and the other was barely hanging on. The head orthopaedic surgeon Professor Alexander Lerner did everything in his power not to amputate her second leg. Using the Alizarov unique technique that brings bones back together, months later this girl walked out of the hospital and across the border back to Syria with one prosthetic and one real leg. 

Alethea asked the Professor if an Israeli and a Syrian came in for emergency surgery who would go into the theatre first.  His answer was very clear… whoever needs it first gets it first. Israel and Syria are at war, however not at Ziv Hospital. This is what real humanity is all about. 

LIGHTS TO IRAQ YAZIDI’S Working with the iAid team Alethea completed a mission to send solar powered lanterns to Yazidi’s in Kurdistan, Northern Iraq. There are currently thousands of Yazidi people on top of Sinjar mountain living with little to no electricity. These people escaped ISIS after horrific genocide, leaving behind family members who remain captured. The stories are beyond belief.

Alethea convinced and coordinated DHL to fly 3,500 solar powered lanterns from China into Erbil airport, Iraq and then drive them on to Dohuk. The lanterns were handed over to “Lifting Hands” and sent up the mountain into an Iraqi army blockade which allowed no foreigners through. Alethea’s local saviour Baderkhan (Badi) from YES (Yazidi’s Emergency Support) and his friend Khairi stepped in to take over 🙏🏻. Being Iraqi Yazidi’s, their trucks made it through the blockage, and delivered the lanterns safely to those who need them.

LIGHTS TO PUERTO RICO To aid the Puerto Rico's humanitarian crisis after hurricane Maria, Alethea coordinated DHL to deliver 5,000 solar puff powered lanterns to suffering people living in horrible conditions with no electricity or water.

IsraAID IN LESVOS  In March 2016, Alethea Gold left Australia bound for the beautiful Greek island of Lesvos to help an Israeli-based emergency relief organisation, known as IsraAID.  In Lesvos, the IsraAID team were totally focused on rescuing and saving Syrian, Iraqi and Afghani lives.  “The people who arrived on a daily basis were completely traumatised. They arrived with nothing, many having had their money and possessions stolen by people smugglers who brought them over.” Alethea worked long hours with little sleep alongside the IsraAID team physically helping refugees off the boats, providing immediate medical treatment, foil sheeting to warm them, food, water and a full change of dry clothes, as well as making sandwiches, and feeding everyone. In addition to this, they provide much-needed emotional support. 

“Alethea said some of the children arrive on the island drenched with water up to their necks. I managed to save a little girl by treating her for hyperthermia immediately, but just metres away a little baby died tragically soon after being taken off the boat.  Meeting and helping people who are fleeing for their lives from ISIS and the Taliban, changed my life forever!”

PETRA REFUGEE CAMP, GREECE Alethea worked with IsraAID helping Yazidi’s in PETRA Camp in Northern Greece near Thessaloniki close to the Macedonian border, stepping in for a team leader for many days due to their own personal breakdown.

The Yazidi’s in this camp told horror stories of their escape from ISIS. Walking 100 kilometres at night from Syria to Turkey, where a people smuggler gave them a motor boat only to run out of fuel after 30 min. Their one hour journey to Lesvos became nine hours with one ore. They were grateful to have escaped and shed tears of past horrific moments such a daily gang rapes by ISIS followers. Some needed medical treatment. Alethea coordinated for a heart doctor to attend the camp which ended up saving one woman’s life.

BERLIN REFUGEES Alethea spent time with refugees in Berlin doing music and art therapy. As part of the art/music therapy program Alethea arranged for a group of refugee’s to attend STING’S pre-concert sound check. One Iraqi woman endured the journey to German safety alone with her two children through harsh territory in Iraq, then Syria, Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Hungary until at last she made it into Germany. Two months travelling through the freezing cold winter with her two small children was worth everything for her to escape her husband who had sold her to ISIS.

STING was incredibly inspiring for the group. He gave his time and a lot of positive attention.

CHARITY FASHION PARADES Many international celebrities have supported Alethea in her efforts to raise funds for numerous children’s charities, often allowing their children to model for her in live fashion shows. 

JAPAN’S 2011 TSUNAMI Along with Ambassadors - George Gregan, Bryan Brown, Sam Neil, Akira Isogawa, Jimmy Barnes, Diesel and Deborah Hutton, Alethea hosted a fund raising event for children who were orphaned by Japan's devastating Tsunami. They raised more than anticipated - enough to help 5 orphanages in the affected area’s.

BANDA ACEH 2004 TSUNAMI Together with friends Dion Antony and Paul Wilson, and with the generous support of Qantas, and numerous other sponsors, Alethea organised over a million dollars worth of essential supplies and clothes for the Tsunami victims in the devastated region of Banda Aceh.

HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM Alethea co-coordinated an Australia Day fashion parade for 2000 people, to raise money to open the Lotus School in Ho Chi Minh City, where 300 children would be able to attend for free.

THE MOTHER OF ALL BALLS Committee work on a major charity event every year.  For over a decade Alethea has helped raise millions of dollars to support the YWCAs Big Brother, Big Sister mentoring programme and for safe houses and shelters for mothers who need help and protection.

REDDAM HOUSE RESURGENCE PARADE raised $40,000 to rebuild a school in the Hambantota Region of Sri Lanka after the 2004 Tsunami.

THE LIGHTHOUSE FOUNDATION Celebrity Fashion Parade in Melbourne supported teenagers, impacted by drug use and underprivileged backgrounds.

BALINESE ORPHANAGE Alethea has delivered thousands of items over the years for the children

NEVE SHALOM a village in Israel where Arab and Jews live together in harmony - helped raise funds for the children.

VICTOR CHANG HEART FOUNDATION A Melbourne Cup Day fashion parade with three million dollars of Jewellery modelled on the catwalk by a celebrity.

SYDNEY STREET KIDS Using her fashion connections, Alethea spent years arranging for clothing to be sent to teenagers living in safe houses and rehab centres across sydney.

BURMA  Alethea supplied Professor Bruce Conolly with suitcases of children’s toys to take on his annual trips to Burma to treat people in villages. 

BOOKS Alethea produced 3 x beautiful photographic books, CHILDREN OF CHINA, CHILDREN OF AFRICA, CHILDREN IN ISRAEL.

DOCUMENTARY Alethea produced and directed the documentary UNSUNG HEROES which launched as a charity event at the Cockatoo Island Film Festival. All proceeds from that night were donated to Cynthia Tobias - one of the unsung heroes in the documentary - providing her enough money to take care of herself and her 28 kids for 8 years.