Giving to Others this Christmas

Do you remember the Christmas Tree out the front of Target or Big W when you were growing up? Did your parents take you shopping, have the present wrapped, put it under the tree and sign your name? Did you ever wonder who received the present? 

It was a yearly routine for families to donate a gift and put it under the tree. It was special and a nice lesson for children, that there are many less fortunate than them. Other families would volunteer at the Christmas Eve supper that was held at St Andrews Chapel here in Dubbo. They would feed and show support to many of the homeless people in Dubbo that would not celebrate a Christmas surrounded by family and friends. Others would invite someone over for Christmas, let them join in the celebrations, feed them and help them feel like they were part of the family. 

More than 116,000 people in Australia will be homeless this Christmas and many are teetering on the edge of homelessness in severe rental stress (Mission Australia). 

More than 1 in 6 young Australians are living in poverty (Smith Family). 

29% or almost 6 million Australians do not know where to turn to for emotional support during the Christmas period (Salvation Army). 

These statistics are hard to read and if you do not think they are relevant to our region, you would be very surprised how close to home these statistics are and it is little wonder.  For the last 5 years we have endured crippling droughts, horrendous bush fires, plagues and Covid-19. We are heading towards Christmas a little spent, emotionally fatigued and ready for a holiday. Most of us are fortunate to live in a beautiful home, see our family and friends on the weekend, and head to the coast for a ‘break’. Many of us will never know what it is like to be in poverty, to not be able to buy our children a present, let alone the one they really want. Many of us will have somewhere to go this Christmas. 

This year, leading up to Christmas, we are going to provide you with a local organisation in the Newsletter each week that you can make a donation to. If you cannot afford to donate money, you could donate some clothes that you do not wear, or toys that aren’t played with any more. If that isn’t possible, you could donate your time. 

We encourage you to think of some way that you can give this Christmas.