At AnglicareSA, we believe everyone deserves the chance to enjoy the festive season and a helping hand to get their life back on track for the new year.
Here are 12 ways your Christmas donation helps South Australians doing it tough.
1. Christmas Hampers
Up until Christmas, AnglicareSA volunteers will be busy packing more than 1,000 hampers full of food, toys and other goodies for those unable to feed their families this festive season.
2. Community Christmas Lunch
Our volunteers prepare a special lunch on Christmas Day at our Elizabeth Mission in Adelaide’s north for those who are unable to spend it with loved ones, or families who don’t have the means to cover a Christmas celebration.
3. Shelter
As part of the Homelessness Gateway, AnglicareSA assists people to access emergency accommodation in crisis.
Another one of our support programs, Turning Point, provides short-term accommodation to families experiencing or at risk of homelessness. Since 2016 the program has supported 54 families, with nine in 10 going on to secure a permanent home.
4. New Clothes
We provide people in need with brand new clothes through our partnership with Thread Together. Thread Together sources end-of-line clothing and accessories from Australian fashion houses, and we take these items to where they’re needed in vans fitted-out as mobile wardrobes. Since hitting the road in 2018, we’ve clothed more than 7,000 South Australians.
In 2019, we opened our new North Adelaide Thread Together Clothing Hub.
5. The Food Barn
Our volunteer-run ‘Food Barn’ is a restaurant providing free hot meals and drinks to more than 100 community members each day in Adelaide’s north. The Food Barn is vital for people who have high and complex needs by providing a soft entry point to our other services.
6. Dignity Packs
We provide handbags filled with special items for women experiencing homelessness, to help them feel special and remind them that people care.
7. Takeaway meals
We have volunteer casserole groups based at our emergency assistance sites, who cook and distribute meals for families doing it tough.
8. Budget Counselling
We have trained and experienced financial counsellors who provide specialist advice on managing creditors and debts, while building people’s confidence in managing their money.
9. Bill Assistance
Our financial counsellors can contact creditors, advocating on the clients’ behalf, to establish affordable payment plans for outstanding bills.
10. Support for Grieving Families
AnglicareSA’s free camps have supported close to 1,000 grieving children and young people through the fear and loss they experience after losing a sibling, parent or other significant person in their lives.
Grief can be very isolating, even within the closest families. Parents and carers often tell us they don’t know how to deal with their own grief let alone how to help their children grieve.
11. Op Shop Vouchers
We have an op shop at The Magdelene Centre and in emergency relief situations, vouchers are provided for community members to receive clothes.
12. Referrals
While we address people’s immediate concerns, we also refer those who seek emergency assistance from us to other long-term services and assistance offered by AnglicareSA and our wider network of partner not-for-profits.
And that’s not all we do…
Crisis is often the result of a greater problem – social and economic systems that are failing too many people.
At AnglicareSA, we believe in social justice, the equal worth of each citizen, equality of opportunity and the importance of strong communities.
We understand the need for a systems approach that involves the whole community as well as all parts and levels of government. The focus needs to be on a collective goal of reducing inequality and improving the livelihoods of all South Australians.
Your support enables us to work collectively at the system level, as we continue to be fearless in providing a voice for those who may feel voiceless.
People don’t forget about Christmas just because they’re struggling
While for you, it might just be a small contribution, for the people on the receiving end it means everything.
Please donate today and bring hope to those doing it tough.