LOGANHOLME BASED non-profit organisation, Lighthouse Care is asking the community to get behind this year’s Christmas Appeal to help families who need it most.
The 2020 Christmas Appeal supports families in the Logan City community who are struggling as a result of 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Over the Christmas season Lighthouse Care is working towards providing thousands of trolleys of food to families all around South East Queensland.
Co-Founder of Lighthouse Care, Debbie Hill, says there are many ways people can support the organisation and the Christmas Appeal.
“Lighthouse Care is an emergency food relief, and we service a whole range of people,” she said. “People are not only getting a great bargain, but they’re helping the most vulnerable, with profits from Lighthouse Care going back into the community.”
Examples of this are Lighthouse Care’s popular $25 trolleys which are gifted to families who need it throughout the year.
Mrs Hill says The Lighthouse Care Christmas Appeal started in 2001 when they began hosting Christmas carols, but since 2009 they’ve also been hosting beautiful community dinners.
“We put down the red carpet and welcome families from domestic violence shelters, children who have fathers in jail, and families with young children whose Dads have passed away,” Mrs Hill said. “We bring them to a five-star event, and every year the event gets more amazing.”
However, Mrs Hill says this year will be a little different due to COVID-19 restrictions, but with the help of donations by locals and businesses, such as Grace Cosmetics on the Gold Coast, the Christmas Appeal can still bring joy to families in need.
“This year, because we can’t bring families in for a beautiful dinner, all these families are receiving a beautiful Christmas Hamper with plates, bon bons, serviettes, things to make their Christmas really special at home,” Mrs Hill said. “We can’t do our usual show either with the superheroes for the kids, so we’re actually going to do our own online show, a week before Christmas.”
The Annual Christmas Appeal expanded five years ago to help kids who were doing it tough, or who were in a tough situation by gifting them their ‘Wishlist’.
“A beautiful lady wanted to help kids in need, and she said she wanted to help 100 kids,” Mrs Hill said. “So 100 children from domestic violence shelters and women’s shelters were asked to write a letter to Santa about something they want, something they need, something to wear and something to read, to the value of $200 per child and they wrote their dream list.
Mrs Hill said that people in the community in a more fortunate situation then shopped for each child and wrapped the gift, which was then delivered to the children at the Annual LIghthouse Care Christmas Event.
“Every year it’s grown,” Mrs Hill said. “The next year it was 250 kids, then 357, and last year we had 637 children who received those Christmas wishlists.
“With COVID it’s been a little tougher, obviously a lot of people aren’t in the same financial position as they were, and a lot more families are doing it tough…but the community has just been so generous, which has been amazing.”
Mrs Hill says Logan City community members can help families in need through a number of ways, by either filling a bag with groceries, making a donation in store or online, donating a gift to a child in need, or purchasing a gift card for a family.
“This year we’ve released our Lighthouse Care shopping bags and we’re asking people to pick up one of our bags and fill it with groceries and then donate it back,” Mrs Hill said. “We’ve also partnered with Logan Hyperdome where there’s bins you can donate food to if you can’t make it to the Lighthouse Care store.
“We make sure those bags will then be given to families who are really struggling and doing it tough.”
If you would like to learn more or to make a donation, click here.
