By Gabriella Payne
The Salvation Army’s Christmas Appeal is spreading festive cheer once again and asking the Greater Dandenong community to lend a helping hand to families and people in need after a particularly tough year.
The pandemic saw many people lose their jobs and struggle to get by, with many turning to the Salvos for assistance as people slipped below the poverty line.
Over the past 12 months, the charity has helped approximately 80,000 people who were impacted by Covid-19 and provided over $10 million in financial assistance and with Christmas on the way, demand for their services is only expected to increase.
This year, the Salvos are aiming to raise $12 million for those in need and are appealing to the local community to help out if they can.
Local Captain of the Salvation Army, Fleur Hodge, said that during the pandemic they had seen an increase in the number of international students and “members of our asylum seeker community needing more assistance than usual, as they don’t receive any government assistance”.
Captain Hodge said that by partnering with Eplus Local, the Salvos had been able to help many of these people find work during the lockdown, particularly in cleaning, but with Christmas on the way they are expecting numbers to increase dramatically.
“After the devastating year that has been, it is more important than ever to look out for one another, to connect with each other and embrace the true meaning of Christmas,” she said.
The Salvation Army are appealing for anyone who is able to donate to their Christmas Appeal to help out, so that those in the community who are less fortunate can have the Christmas they deserve.
Things may look a little different this year, but the Salvos are still accepting donations in any form.
“We’re always happy to have whatever people are able to give us,” Captain Hodge said.
K-mart stores will be running the annual ‘wishing tree’ for the charity, where people can donate new toys for children (not used, due to Covid), while the Doveton Salvation Army site is accepting non-perishable food items.
However, due to Covid-19, intersection collecting is no longer allowed in Victoria and will be a “big loss” to the Christmas Appeal according to Captain Hodge, so financial donations are encouraged and welcomed.
Captain Hodge also said that things such as the usual gift wrapping at Dandenong Plaza wouldn’t be going ahead, as the organisation wanted to avoid crowds of people congregating inside and with a large proportion of volunteers aged over 70, did not want to put them at risk.
Despite these new changes, the Salvos Christmas Appeal hopes to do well, with teams across the state expected to distribute more than 30,000 hampers and vouchers, give out over $1.3 million worth of gifts and toys and support more than 50,000 families in need.
“Anyone in need this Christmas can reach out to us by calling us and we’ll do all we can to support you. We don’t want anyone to go it alone this year. If you need food, gifts, financial support or are feeling lonely, please get in touch,” Captain Hodge said.
If you are able to help, financial donations can be made online at https://community.salvationarmy.org.au/t/dandenong-salvos or by calling 13 SALVOS (13 72 58).
Non-perishable food items can be donated at the Salvation Army Doveton site at 1A Frawlay Road, Doveton or new toys can be dropped off at the K-mart ‘wishing tree’.
