Christmas Day giving for the Currie family begins early in the Wiseberry Taree office.
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The family and a few friends gather early to load their cars with washing baskets packed with gifted food and personal care products. There is a flurry of activity in Victoria Street opposite Fotheringham Park as they work to transport the baskets from the office to churches and organisations that are caring for, and connecting to vulnerable people on Christmas Day.
It is a morning of community connection, filled with moments of joy and giving, and this year will be the fourth year the Currie family has run the Wiseberry Christmas Appeal.
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Last year 60 baskets were created from donated non-perishable and perishable food, personal care products and cash donations from individuals and local businesses.
The Currie family values the generosity of the community and is appealing for people to again support the appeal.
“Every donation is appreciated and needed,” Lesley said.
It’s important to give back and it’s amazing the amount of people that can’t have a Christmas dinner.
- Alister Currie
“It’s concerning the amount of people that haven’t got tins in their cupboards. We don’t think about it enough, but there are people, particularly elderly people in our community who don’t have enough money to fill their cupboards after they have paid for their medications and everything else.
“There is usually custard, bread and milk, coffee and tea, just basics, but not a great deal more,” Lesley said.
The catalyst for the first Wiseberry Christmas Appeal was seeing homeless people in Taree.
“We do a bit of running and a few years ago we saw lots of homeless people on the riverbank and it started a conversation about the need to help the homeless,” Alister said.
It also prompted the creation of the Wiseberry Winter Appeal which is run during July, and Dawn says this year the community donated 960 kilograms of clothes and blankets.
Dawn is hoping the community will again act to help vulnerable people in our community and will assist Wiseberry Taree “to do something nice for someone who may not necessarily have such a good day.”
”If you can’t afford to go out and buy things for the appeal, then go into your cupboards and any tins that you don’t want, please donate them,” Lesley said.
”Even $10 will help us to go and buy stuff to add to the hampers,” Dawn added.
Donations can be delivered to the Wiseberry Taree office at 219-223 Victoria Street seven days-a-week between 8am and 6pm. For further information phone 6552 3733.