Jennifer Pittorino
As Christmas fast approaches, so will the point of crisis for many people struggling to make ends meet.
For the Salvos, Christmas is the busiest time of the year, which is why Hobsons Bay Salvation Army core officer Star Conliffe is grateful for the recent community support.
“We have had an incredible amount of support from the community and we’ve had a lot of new donors come on board,” she said,
“There have been a lot of new organisations, and even some companies running food drives for us which has been very nice and expected.
“This has been very cool because we were wondering how we were going to meet all of the need.”
In the coming weeks, Ms Conliffe said they are expecting to hand out 90 hampers to those in need.
“We have had schools come on board, a number of businesses, rotaries and we have seen an incredible increase of generosity from the community, which has been very heartwarming.”
Ms Conliffe said the hampers will include a variety of goods, ranging in size for families, singles and couples.
“They are a mix of everyday pantry items which people need such as milk, cereal, pasta and pasta sauce.
“And then we also have all the special items we like to do at Christmas, these include lollies, Christmas pudding, cake and more.
“Everyone gets three or four really special items, we really try to make it work with whatever we have.”
At this time of year, Ms Conliffe said they noticed more families coming in for help including families who previously probably wouldn’t have needed assistance.
“Unfortunately, a lot of people do feel embarrassed about reaching out for help, so we are just trying to encourage people to know that we’re actually here for them,” she said.
“There is no shame in needing help, because as a community, everyone’s coming together to make sure that everyone has what they want for Christmas.”
