‘Tis the season to give to children in need across the Great South Coast

Posted on 04/12/2018 by Sinclair Wilson in News, Sinclair Wilson in the Community

Local children in need will be counting on the Great South Coast’s largest accounting firm this Christmas, as Sinclair Wilson celebrates the start of the festive season by launching its annual Wishing Tree program.

From today, the firm’s Warrnambool, Camperdown and Hamilton offices will provide an opportunity for locals to donate a gift to local children working with south west support agencies focused on supporting families in need.

This year, Warrnambool’s Emma House and Brophy Family & Youth Services, St Vincent de Paul in both Warrnambool and Camperdown and Hamilton’s MacKillop Family Services have nominated 30 children each (150 in total) who will otherwise be left with nothing when they wake on Christmas morning.

Gift tags outlining the child’s gender and age are being hung in the three Sinclair Wilson offices, providing donors with information to inspire their purchase. Unwrapped gifts could be left in tubs underneath each office’s Christmas tree.

The preparation and delivery of the gifts throughout December will also be a collaboration; wrapping is undertaken by Sinclair Wilson employees, and the firm’s Warrnambool office – where the largest amount of gifts are collected –works with Warrnambool Central Rotary Club to ensure the gifts are delivered to each agency in time for Christmas Day.

Sinclair Wilson Partner Felicity Melican, who established the firm’s first Wishing Tree 5 years ago, said it was important to know that south west residents’ generous donations found their way to local homes.

“It’s often the case that the children these agencies work with are already marginalised or feel as though they miss out. This is just one way we can help ensure they can enjoy this special time of the year and feel part of the undeniable magic that occurs on Christmas morning.”

She said each year, the agencies were overwhelmed by the generosity of our staff, clients and local people, who embraced the opportunity to provide for children in their own community.

These contributions remain in our local community, rather than being sent to a central point in Melbourne or Sydney. People have told us, year after year, this is why our Wishing Tree resonates with them, along with the fact it’s really a collaborative effort – we have individuals, local businesses and support agencies all working together to ensure children living in our own communities will not go without.”

That said, Felicity pointed out it could never be taken for granted that there would be enough gifts to go around. “Sadly, the demand will always be greater than the supply, no matter how many generous donors we can connect with,” Felicity pointed out. “We can’t tell ourselves that, ‘I don’t need to donate, they’ve got enough’, because, unfortunately, it’s just never the case.”

She encouraged as many people as possible to consider taking mere minutes from their busy Christmas rush to collect a tag from either the Warrnambool, Hamilton or Camperdown office to contribute to this years’ program.

“It’s so easy to get caught up in the rush of Christmas. We’re simply asking that people donate minutes of their day and a small amount from their own pocket to ensure that as many children as possible can have the Christmas they deserve.”