LMI’s Salvos Family Christmas Gifting has been a running tradition in the Melbourne office for at least 18 years now. But for the second year in a row, our Brisbane office has taken part too!

LMI’s Wendy Hayden spoke about how this was made possible.

“Anyone that wishes to contribute either deposits money into a dedicated account throughout the year or as a single deposit when I call for contributions towards the end of the year – usually starting around the end of October. It is not compulsory and previously was just PCI but this year I offered to include LMI College in Queensland as well.

“This is the second year we have done it. This year we raised $815 which was great! We were inspired by what the Melbourne office does each year. Around the end of October, I contact the Salvation Army and ask to be matched with a family they think would benefit from our support. They match us with a family, and seek input from the family regarding what they would like and/or need – not only gift-wise but for their lives in general. A cut-off date is set for the contributions and we then go shopping.”

Pictured below is some of the gifts and essentials that the team bought and gathered for the family.

“We like to be matched with a family,” Wendy explained. “So we can see how our contributions directly impact the life of someone in need”.

This year, the Brisbane office matched with a family of three from Papua New Guinea, a single mother and her two children, who are now living in Queensland.

“We then contact the Salvation Army and arrange to deliver the hamper to them – Carmel [LaFrenais] dropped it off along with the Family Case Manager Timea and Dani the Team Leader. Carmel’s son helped her with the delivery, and also contributed some of his own things when he heard that a child in the family was a like-minded Avengers fan.”

“Carmel and Loretta did a great job, and we were able to purchase [a] blender for mum as well as a lot of the other things that were suggested,” Wendy said. “Mum is on a very limited budget, so we bought gifts but also supplied her with a Coles Essentials Gift Card”.

“It is a wonderful feeling, knowing something that might seem small to us is huge when it comes to people like our family this year. It really is the true meaning of Christmas and I anticipate that we will continue the tradition for many years to come!”