Christmas Appeal
Everyone Deserves a Happy Christmas
From homelessness and heartbreak, to a Christmas they will remember forever, thanks to your gift.
Will Santa know how to find me, Mum?
This is a real fear when you’re a child experiencing homelessness at Christmas. Lutheran Care client, Gina, and her family, understand this all too well. This was their lives not long ago.
After having to leave an unsafe home environment, Gina and her two kids lived in a tent. For safety reasons, they moved locations every night, from skate parks, to secluded backstreets and dirt roads.
“That was pretty scary on its own, with two kids, pitching up a tent in random spots,” Gina said. “You just don't know who's around."
When the ground was hard or they felt too unsafe, the three of them squeezed into a tiny, borrowed, hatchback. As her children slept, Gina would try to stifle her crying. She was in a constant state of physical and mental exhaustion with all the effort it took to ensure the children stayed in a routine as much as possible.
“Every morning I would pack up the tent, get the kids to school, find a location, wait for the kids to finish school, pick them up, go to that location, set up the tent, and that’s where we would pitch up for the night.”
Without any refrigeration, they lived off long life items. They found places to fill up waterbottles, use a microwave and wash. “Wet wipes were a godsend,” Gina said.
“My kids didn’t know if Santa was going to be able to come to them, as we’d been moving around so much. To be honest, I didn’t know either.”
Gina is a fantastic, hardworking mother, resilient and articulate. Her life has been marked by periods of hardship — including financial struggles, mental health challenges, experiences of violence, and the loss of loved ones — which together created the perfect storm that led to homelessness three times in six years.
Even at her lowest point, Gina did everything she could to shield her kids from the situation. She turned their time without a home into a camping adventure.
“The kids, to this day, still don't know how bad it actually was, because you just kind of make it work for them and do what you've got to do. You make it fun.”
Over the years, Gina has sought help from many organisations. Too often, she was met with judgement and turned away without the support she desperately needed. Then she found her way to Lutheran Care. She’s so glad she did. By that point, she was barely holding everything together.
“They welcomed me with open arms and I just broke down. They are some of the kindest people I’ve ever met. They just sat with me until I was ready to talk.”
The Lutheran Care team gave the family Emergency Relief food, vouchers, and advice, as well as a second tent and warm sleeping bags. Gina said the extra tent was a gamechanger; it meant their belongings could be stored safely out of the weather. It was also a ‘play area’ for the children.
Thanks to Lutheran Care’s supporters, Christmas could also come to Gina’s little family. Her children’s faces lit up when they woke to presents under the tree, full plates on the table, and the simple magic of a Christmas morning many take for granted.
Eventually, with Lutheran Care’s support, Gina secured a job at a caravan park. The job came with accommodation – a one-bedroom cabin. A front door, a room with carpet, proper beds for a good night’s rest, finally – it was like a dream come true. “It was like Christmas.”
Gina remembered watching her kids be able to pour Lego out onto the floor. “You can’t play with Lego on grass – all the little pieces, they’ll get lost. The kids had toys everywhere, and we didn’t even care if we stepped on a piece. It was so great to see them happy.”
Gina feels like her family is now thriving, not just surviving. She’s taken on more responsibility at work. They’ve moved into a new cabin that has a parking space and a little garden, where the kids love growing sunflowers and herbs.
Lutheran Care continues to check in. The kids are kind, hardworking and doing well at school. They never complain. They watch their mum push through every day to give them the best life she can.
This year, the children will be helping bring the magic of Christmas to other families in need, by volunteering with Lutheran Care to pack Christmas hampers. Gina wants them to understand how lucky they are and how giving back is so important.
Every kid deserves a Christmas. Can you help??
Coming into Christmas, please give generously to help a family feel love and support at Christmas time.
*Names and images have been de-identified to protect clients’ privacy.
Christmas Appeal
Will you give a little kindness this Christmas?
This Christmas, Lutheran Care will assist families such as Gina’s with food and gifts to bring some joy and lighten the load. Your gift will also fund and expand important programs to help more vulnerable families have a happier new year ahead.
- $20 - helps keep our Emergency Relief pantry stocked, in preparation for growing demand this Christmas season.
- $60 - will fund a Christmas Hamper for a family in need, including festive foods and age-appropriate gifts for children, to help them have a Christmas celebration.
- $150 - empowers parents with skills and confidence through workshops, support groups, counselling, playgroups and a crèche - helping families begin the new year with hope.
- $250 - provides crucial support for people facing challenges like homelessness, family violence, and mental health concerns, which can often be exacerbated at Christmas time.
- $1000 - will feel like a Christmas miracle for a family escaping violence or homelessness, linking them with emergency housing, clothing, toys, furniture, and essentials.
Lutheran Care
Christmas Angels
You are invited to make a donation in honour of a loved one you are missing this Christmas.
Click here to make an online donation, using the ‘Christmas Appeal’ option. When you include your loved one’s details, we’ll create a special angel decoration in their honour and display it proudly on our Lutheran Care Christmas tree.
If you’d like to download an angel to decorate and display at home, click here.
Make a donation in honour of a loved one you are missing this Christmas, and be a Christmas angel for a family you’ll never meet.
Christmas can be a difficult time of year when someone you love is no longer here. Many of us will have an empty seat at the Christmas table this year.
We invite you to honour your late loved one with a gift to someone in need this Christmas.
Honouring your loved one with a donation is easy. Simply click here to donate online, using the ‘Christmas Appeal’ option. To celebrate both your donation and your loved one, we can create a unique angel decoration in their honour and display it proudly on our Lutheran Care Christmas tree. You can personalise your dedication, via the donation form, too. For example, “In honour of our grandmother Kate, from John, Alice and the kids”; or “In honour of David, from your grandchildren Kyle and Ava from Nuriootpa.”
If you and your family would like to download your own angel to decorate and display at home, click here.
Thanks for being an angel for a family you’ll never meet.
