Christmas wishing tree: bringing joy to those in need
Most families enjoy a Christmas of plenty, but for some, it can be a choice between gifts and groceries. That’s where the Salvos can help,
Renee Gipp was only 18 when she bought the modest brick house she calls her “castle” – and she worked three jobs to do it. Now a 27-year-old single mum, she prides herself on her gritty selfreliance, but even she was feeling fragile as Christmas loomed last year. She and her husband had split and she was emotionally bruised and financially stressed.
She was barely getting by, but had managed to buy a couple of small presents for her boys – and, as a co-founder of the Bayside Mothers Group in Melbourne, she knew there were lots of others doing it tougher than her. Well-known among local mums, Renee often sends struggling women to the Salvation Army. In fact, Renee was taking another mum to the Salvos last Christmas when they invited her to choose some presents from the Kmart Wishing Tree.
For Jai, now seven, Renee chose a Transformers action figure and for three-year-old Jet, a Buzz Lightyear – toys the boys had been dreaming about, but Renee could never afford. “I had tears in my eyes because we were just going to get by and … it made it Christmas,” recalls Renee.
“The look on the kids’ faces was insane. It wasn’t just receiving a present – it was like receiving love. Just knowing that there is goodness in the world and there are people who have your back – even strangers.”
For the past 30 years, the Kmart Wishing Tree Appeal has collected more than 8 million gifts from the Australian public and the Salvation Army has given them to those who would otherwise go without.
According to the Salvos, single parents on income support have just over $14 a day to live on after housing expenses, which puts them well below the poverty line. Meanwhile, almost 30 per cent of us spend more than $200 per child on Christmas presents.
Renee survives on the single mother payment and a tiny income from her small online business selling #Mumlife stickers and from working one day a week as a bookkeeper, but she has no savings, has never taken the kids on a holiday and struggles with unexpected expenses such as a basketball uniform.
“I would never borrow money because I would rather go without,” says Renee, who swears by meals such as pasta bakes when money is tight.
Kmart Community Manager Kate Thiedeman says she would like to see more gifts for teenagers, as well as school supplies. “We also get a lot of gifts in memory of children who have passed on, on behalf of the child they have lost,” says Kate.
Renee says, “It wasn’t about the present for me. It’s letting other people know that we’re all in it together.”