Community help sought for appeal

The Salvation Army is getting ready to help those in need this Christmas, but they need the community’s help.

The Warragul Corps has begun collecting donations for its Christmas appeal, but much more is needed to meet the demand.

“We’ll again be doing our hampers and toys and we’ll be distributing from the 19th (December),” Captain Amanda Hart said.

“We’re after gifts for teenagers and boys, as we don’t often have a lot for those.

“We also don’t get a lot for adults, so we’re after token gifts that they can pick for themselves. “Gift cards are always good.” Salvation Army volunteer Rob Oosterhof said this year had seen a spike in demand for assistance from the charity.

“Cost of living is increasing, and a lot of people have been coming for food,” he said.

“People have had a huge increase to their rent, are struggling with other resources and are having to make a choice of having a roof over their head or food.

“And it’s hit people who were doing well six months ago.

“It’s a domino effect and it’s relative to Christmas because people have nowhere to go and can’t meet the costs of food.

“Christmas is a tough time, and many want to make it happy for their kids.

“We want to do anything we can to support them.”

Captain Hart said the Salvation Army was appreciative of the support of the community and hoped for another round of strong donations this year.

“Without them we couldn’t do this or any of the things that we do throughout the year,” she said.

Captain Hart said with the Salvation Army office not staffed all the time, the charity was also looking for businesses to act as collection points.

“We will help advertise those to the community,” she said.