Make Christmas special for local children in need
Local children in need will be counting on the Great South Coast’s largest accounting firm this Christmas, as we herald the start of the festive season by launching our annual Wishing Tree program.
From this week, the firm’s Warrnambool, Camperdown and Hamilton offices will provide an opportunity for Sinclair Wilson staff, clients and the broader community 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 and Hamilton’s McKillop Family Services have nominated more than 150 children living in the region 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, with collection dates being 9 and 16 December.
Last year’s Giving Tree campaign was the biggest the firm had ever seen – and all four charities have indicated that this year, the need is greater than ever before.
Those we worked with last year couldn’t believe the response of the local communities – it really struck a chord with local people that their gifts were being left under the tree in homes around the South West.
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, that this is why our Wishing Tree resonates with them, along with the fact it’s a true 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, it can 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.
Therefore, we can’t tell ourselves that, ‘I don’t need to donate, they’ve got enough’, because, unfortunately, it’s just never the case.
We encourage 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.