Delivering for people in need
Groups across the Wimmera have been hard at work, undertaking their annual Christmas drives and efforts to help people less fortunate enjoy the festive period.
Charity organisations, businesses, schools and individuals have banded together to deliver help through various programs and assist people experiencing financial hardship leading into the festive season.
Christian Emergency Food Centre manager Bev Miatke said the organisation had been busy trying to meet the needs of community members coming through the door.
“People are doing it tough this year and this time of year, in particular, stresses their finances even more,” Mrs Miatke said.
“They want to be doing things for their children and their families and quite often they just cannot.
“They want to be able to pay their bills, their rent and keep up, but when the cost of everything is rising, it just makes it so hard.
“We have seen more and more people who are new to having to ask for help – that’s hard and we recognise that, so we try and make it as easy for them as possible, so that they don’t have to feel like they are being judged.
“We’re here if they need medical prescriptions, travel to medical appointments or even just a little bit of help with their utility bills.”
Horsham Sports and Community Club manager Glenn Carroll said the club’s Reverse Advent Calendar initiative had seen about 350 boxes filled with goods.
“We worked with the Christian Emergency Food Centre and Horsham churches to come up with a list of nonperishable items and, once we delivered the filled boxes to the centre, they put them together with some perishable items,” Mr Carroll said.
“Each box costs about $90, which isn’t an insignificant amount.
“We’ve received filled boxes from Horsham’s Ss Michael and John’s Primary School, St Brigid’s College, Holy Trinity Lutheran College, Horsham Primary School and Rasmussen Campus, local businesses and a lot of individuals.
“Three-hundred-and-fifty is a fantastic result, we are extremely grateful to all the contributors.”
Mrs Miatke said the centre had been facilitating Christmas hampers, which were made with the help of sponsors and volunteers.
“We have about 450 hampers we’ve made this year for people in Horsham and surrounding districts,” she said.
“Each of the hampers provides Christmas lunch. We have canned ham, vegetables, puddings, cakes, custard, lollies, biscuits – everything they need for their family to get together for Christmas.”
Mrs Miatke said volunteering to put together the boxes was a social outlet for many, with people of all ages lending their time, including a dozen 20 to 25 year-olds.
“On the assembling days, it’s quite a festive atmosphere. We meet up in the back room at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church and it’s like a factory line,” she said.
“They do an amazing job and they put their name down for it every year, because it’s good fun.”
WIM Resource community engagement officer Murray Wilson said his organisation was proud to be a major sponsor of the Christmas hampers.
“We are potentially developing a major project in the Wimmera for a mineral sands mine, called Avonbank, and if that project becomes successful, we’ll be a major employer in the region and have an opportunity to be able to contribute to the Wimmera region on a broader scale,” he said.
“Christian Emergency Food Centre Christmas hampers are a great opportunity for WIM to be able to give something back to the community and also, as Bev said, assist some families that are doing it a bit tough.”