By MELISSA MEEHAN
THE TREES are up and Christmas carols are playing in most shops – it’s easy to get caught up in the holiday spirit, but spare a thought for those doing it rough.
Dandenong Ranges Emergency Relief Service (DRERS) manager Tania Bevan and her team are bracing for their busiest time of the year.
Ms Bevan is already estimating that they will need to support more than 100 local families doing it rough in the lead up to Christmas and soon after.
“This really is our busiest time of year,” she said. “We are inundated with people before Christmas and in the lead up to school starting.
“These people are already struggling, but they have to spend a little extra over Christmas and that puts them over their limits.”
Ms Bevan said visiting family over the holidays was also another reason families were feeling the pinch.
“These people go up to Bendigo or Ballarat to be with their families and that trip in the end is what means they don’t have enough for groceries or school essentials,” she said.
“People who are already struggling to make ends meet really find this time of the year a struggle.”
This year, DRERS is again calling on donations for their Hills Christmas Project – and will put together more than 200 food hampers for struggling locals.
They need donations of non-perishable foods including long life milk, tinned vegetables and fruit, pudding, coffee and tea, sugar, fruit cakes, juice, non-perishable cheese, biscuits both sweet and savoury, gravy mix, canned tuna and ham.
“Stuff like that we can never get enough of, but they are perfect foods to include in our Christmas hampers,” Ms Bevan said.
“And we’d love it if we could get a few lollies or chocolates too – it’s something different from the every day items we usually give out – something special for Christmas.”
This year 224 people have been invited to attend the Hills Christmas where the Christmas hampers will be handed out.
Those who attend will also have the opportunity to take one donated gift to give to a family member of loved one.
“We have our giving tree up at the Belgrave Library,” Ms Bevan said.
“The idea is that members of the community go to the tree and take a card, they buy a present and bring it back to the tree.
“They don’t need to wrap it.”
Giving tree donations need to be returned by 6 December and food donations will be accepted up until Christmas.
DRERS is always looking for volunteers to help provide emergency assistance to their clients, and need volunteers to work in their Op Shop.
For more information, call DRERS on 9754 7777.
