Posted in Culture
Thousands of gifts and more than $330,000 has already been donated to help people across the country this festive season through the UnitingCare and Target Christmas Appeal.
UnitingCare organisations have been collaborating with community groups, churches, schools, businesses and individuals to help brighten Christmas for people in need.
The 26th Appeal aims to raise $1.5 million to help the one in eight people who live in poverty and who would otherwise go without at this time of year.
Funds raised will help provide emergency relief throughout the busy period, and to provide food so families and individuals can enjoy a meal this Christmas.
Toys donated will be given to thousands of families in the coming weeks, so they can ensure their children have a gift to open on Christmas morning.
Libby Craft, the Chief Executive Officer of UnitingSA (formerly UnitingCare Wesley Port Adelaide), says the Christmas Appeal is a wonderful demonstration of the power of community giving.
“Christmas can be a stressful time for some people in our community who may not be able to afford things that many take for granted,” Libby says.
“Each toy donated brings a smile to the face of a child on Christmas morning and all funds raised help us provide emergency relief to people over the Christmas period.
“By coming together as a community, we really can make a positive difference in people’s lives.”
Among the donors this year are the Toyboys – part of the Rotary Club of Charles Sturt Grange – who create handmade wooden toys to distribute to charities across South Australia.
The group generously donated their quality gifts to staff from UnitingSA at a presentation in their Woodville toy factory on Wednesday 29 November.
“I hope [UnitingSA] gets as big a thrill giving these toys away to disadvantaged families as we do making them,” says Peter Read, the President of the Rotary Club of Charles Sturt Grange.
The Toyboys’ donations and other gifts will be distributed from UnitingSA’s Christmas ‘toy room’, which will open to families in the local area in the week before Christmas.
Across five days, UnitingSA will have about 350 families through its doors in Port Adelaide to select a toy they know their child will love to receive.
Families will also be provided wrapping paper and stocking fillers so their child can experience the joy of Christmas on December 25.
There are many ways the community can get involved in the UnitingCare and Target Christmas Appeal including:
For more information about the UnitingCare and Target Christmas Appeal, please visit unitingcarechristmasappeal.com.au
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