Christmas is called the silly season for a reason. Many of us find ourselves buying into the idea that we need to provide more food, more presents and more trimmings for Christmas to be perfect.

Logically we know this is not the case – it really is about being present for our loved ones, rather than providing presents. But at the end of the day we all want to make Christmas special so we do this through gifts and food, sometimes to the point of excess.

However the holidays can be a tough time for many families already on a tight budget.
So this week CareSouth and Anglicare joined forces to provide Christmas food and toy hampers in a bid to take some of the pressure off families in our Brighter Futures program.

More than 50 families, including 125 children, from Helensburgh to Gerroa received a hamper donated by Anglicare and hand delivered by their Brighter Futures caseworker.

Caresouth’s Brighter Futures program manager Alex Muir said it was a great opportunity for case workers to visit families and celebrate the milestones achieved over the year.

Anglicare’s Debbie Magyar said the hampers included a box of Christmas food such as puddings, a $30 grocery gift card and toys for the children.

“We have partnered with services including CareSouth over a number of years to make Christmas the best it can be for everybody,” said Debbie. “We know there are families out there struggling to make ends meet and we just want to bless them and make sure these families and children get a great Christmas.”

CareSouth would like to take this opportunity to thank Anglicare for their support and to wish our children, young people, families, carers and external partners a safe and happy holiday.