True Christmas Spirit
Newcastle Herald
Tuesday December 12, 2000
L AST December charity groups in the Hunter Region provided help to more than 35,000 people in the lead-up to Christmas.
That help included around 7000 hampers of food, food vouchers, toys to be given as presents, even basic meals.
The St Vincent de Paul Society, according to public relations officer Sue Whit-aker, helped more than 7000 people last December at a cost of more than $104,000. More than 2500 food hampers were given out.
The figures for the other major charities in the region were similar.
The Samaritans helped 5000 people and gave away 1200 food hampers in the same month, while the Newcastle City Mission assisted 13,072 people and served 803 meals to the needy.
In all, more than 6900 hampers were delivered to families in the Hunter so that they too could enjoy some Christmas cheer.
L AST year The Samaritans, The Salvation Army, St Vincent de Paul, Newcastle City Mission, the Magic Moments Foundation and City Care joined together under the banner of the Combined Charities Christmas Appeal to provide assistance to Hunter families in what was a first for a major city.
This year the charities have joined forces again, along with The Smith Family.
The charities work together and all the goods and money donated stay in the Hunter area. While the charities still run their own programs, grouping together under the Combined Charities banner means that if people can't decide which charity to donate to, they can donate to all of them at once.
Michael Blaxland, of The Samaritans, said that cash donations were needed at the moment, along with new toys and non-perishable food.
`This time of the year is one of our peak times,' he said.
`There are a lot of people that rely on us to help them with toys and food hampers and we have the potential to make Christmas happy for these people.'
While giving assistance to those in need, Mr Blaxland said it was important to make sure that those getting the assistance felt as comfortable as possible, which is why The Samaritans ask that toys not be wrapped.
`We give the toys with wrapping paper to the parents so that they feel they are a part of it all,' he explained.
`When people come to us it can be demoralising, but there are a lot of people struggling and it's not their fault.'
The need for cash donations was high, Mr Blaxland said, because it allowed the charities to make up the shortfall from other donations.
With cash the charities can buy presents for specific age groups as well as extra food to fill the gaps in Christmas hampers.
* When buying food for Christmas hampers think about what you will be enjoying during the Christmas season. Surely you won't be eating baked beans and creamed corn.
Think about donating tinned vegetables, hams, salmon and party nibbles along with some of the basics.
If you are having a Christmas get-together with friends or a work party, why not ask everyone to bring along a non-perishable food donation, then drop them off at one of the many charities, banks, department stores or churches that are collecting for hampers. Or call 4932-8599 to arrange a pickup for the Combined Charities Christmas Appeal.
© 2000 Newcastle Herald
