By Luke Voogt
While Hamlyn Heights single mum and songstress Chelsea Gibb yearns to get back onstage, she is finding purpose helping those struggling amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Chelsea has performed across Australia and more than 30 countries, with credits such as Chicago, Anything Goes and The King and I to her name.
She is also among the volunteers serving meals at OneCare, which is experiencing a surge in demand as the pandemic forces other charities to close their doors.
“I think we served 300 meals last Thursday,” Chelsea said.
“It’s growing every week – obviously it’s changed a lot since corona hit.
“I tell my kids, ‘when you’re feeling down or flat, the best way to feel better is to give to someone else’.”
Chelsea and hundreds of thousands of performers worldwide lost their livelihoods when the pandemic hit.
“They were the first people to lose their income and their industry,” she said.
“It’s just starting to hit home how much I’ve been missing performing.”
In Australia many were ineligible for the new JobKeeper allowance, or all of the recently-bolstered JobSeeker allowance, and had gone “back to the hustle” finding creative ways to make money with venues shut, she said.
But Chelsea felt like she was “doing OK”, she said.
“Being in OneCare and seeing the people struggling is a great reality check. We really don’t need a lot. [The pandemic is] teaching everybody to pull it in.”
The charity had introduced social distancing to its twice weekly meals but was still maintaining “the warmth and love” as people came in, Chelsea said.
“A lot of people don’t have anyone and for many it’s their only day they venture out and have a meal and some company.
“It’s about chatting and finding out how everyone is going this week, that’s the most important thing.”
Chelsea began volunteering for OneCare a few years ago following her divorce, and recently started working a couple of days each week for the group too.
“It gave me a lot more than what I was giving them to be honest,” she said.
“It’s been a great source of joy in my life – just being an ear for someone – you end up getting more out of it than the person you’re listening to.”
OneCare’s “amazing volunteers” also recently started delivering meals to those in need and making ‘pantry packs’ for people to take home, she said.
Before the pandemic hit, Chelsea had been touring with fellow musicians Amanda Harrison and Melissa Langton in Cyrens – The Swinging Songbook of Cy Coleman.
“Hopefully we’ll be able to bring that back to Geelong when everything opens back up,” she said.
Her eldest, 15-year-old daughter Arielle, had been busking regularly before the coronavirus.
Despite the pandemic shutting down venues and events worldwide, Chelsea was appreciating quality family time.
“I miss hugging so much,” she said.
