By Corey Everitt
Echos of Christmas joy will be felt across the hills this holiday season as community not-for-profit ECHO gears up for their annual Christmas hamper giveaway.
ECHO’s efforts to help those in need this year has received an extra boost from the Cardinia Foundation, as they are a recipient of $2000 from the foundation’s latest round of Christmas grants.
These go to their Christmas hampers to be given away this December for those in need. ECHO have been running this annual relief program for close to a decade, delivering much-needed assistance to around 80 families per-year in the Eastern Dandenong Ranges.
The hampers will include the Christmas essentials, ham, pudding and so on. With the additional grant, ECHO will be able to put in gift cards that will allow families to get something of their choice whether it be a present or something extra for Christmas lunch.
“The focus for us is around dignity of choice, often when people are given handouts they can just pretty much be ‘grateful for what you got’,” said EACH CEO Nicole Lane.
“Whereas we want to say to people, no you go to a shop as anyone else would and you make your own choices.”
“Not everyone likes the same meal or can eat the same meal. The voucher is for them to choose if they are not fans of plum pudding or want something different.”
Seeking out help can be difficult for families, so all of the recipients for ECHO hampers will be delivered anonymously.
They are organising their distribution through local schools, kindergartens and playgroups who will be given the hampers to give out to the families they know are in need.
“Say there are 20 hampers for Gembrook Primary, we take 20 there and they distribute them to the families,” explained Program Manager Sue Barbieri.
Such efforts by ECHO play a vital role in ensuring those in need in the hills have a place to go locally.
“We fill gaps in services, a lot of people here are sent off the mountain if they need things. Our goal is to keep programs here,” Ms Lane said.
“For people here your councils are either in Lilydale or Pakenham, and every bus goes to Belgrave.
“That’s why providing these sorts of services locally is really important to us.”
The organisation’s are busy all year round running projects such their a weekly food relief program called the Food Store, no-interest loan scheme, family support and youth mentoring activities and organising chaplains for local schools.
With the cost-of-living still on the rise they are seeing more and more work to be done, as many 100 no-interest loans are giving out monthly at the moment.
“We all know there are just more and more doing it tough, I guess the harder thing for us is that a lot of them now are people who have never done it tough before. So they don’t know where to go for help,” Ms Lane said.
“That’s been one of our pushes over the last year is promoting the no-interest loans and the foodstore as well because it’s no questions asked, people can just come and take what they need.”
From churches, supermarkets, local businesses to the Cardinia Foundation coming together to help their relief efforts this Christmas it can go a long way to showing people that there is always local people who can help.
“It’s great to see the community come together and be able to help other families,” said Ms Barbieri.
Ms Lane added, “whatever we get each year is what we give, so this year will be that extra bonus from Cardinia Foundation with the ability to include these vouchers.”
If you wish to donate for ECHO’s hampers or their general relief efforts, you can do so online at echo.org.au/foodstore/.
The hampers will be packed and begin to be distributed from Thursday 14 December, residents are still encouraged to donate as ECHO will continue to deliver items to the community through the Food Store.
Along with their grants, the Cardinia Foundation is also conducting a Christmas fundraiser for those in need.
The community can either donate funds directly or start their own fundraiser.
To get involved, go to cardinia-foundation.grassrootz.com/christmas-appeal-2023-share-the-joy
