For many people, Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. A time full of excitement, a chance to be with loved ones, to share stories, and make memories. However, for many others, Christmas can be really difficult. For people who are isolated from family, grieving the loss of loved ones, navigating strained relationships or experiencing financial hardship or homelessness, Christmas can be their loneliest time of year.
For Baptist Care SA, Christmas serves as a time to celebrate the gift of Christ and to extend His love and compassion to all people. It is a time when, as a community, we come together to demonstrate our Mission, especially to those who are at risk or marginalised, regardless of their circumstances.
Each year, through regular payroll deductions, our generous team of employees donate funds for around 80 gifts for some of our clients who are most in need. The gifts (primarily gift cards), are given to children and young people aged between five and 18, who live in our care in youth and residential accommodation. We also provide gifts to adult disability clients who reside in our residential properties. The gifts, which are distributed by employees who have established relationships with our clients through their work, are often the only ones our clients will receive at Christmas.
We also collect toys, proudly donated by churches and other generous donors, and make them available for parents, grandparents and guardians who cannot afford to buy gifts. In the weeks before Christmas, our meeting rooms are transformed into a brightly decorated wonderland where toys are displayed for eligible people to make their choice of what they’d like to give to children in their care. Once chosen, the toys are then gift wrapped by our employees and volunteers and ready to be given as gifts.
On Christmas Day, we throw open the doors to the WestCare Centre and invite everyone to a shared lunch. At tables decorated with tinsel and baubles, and to the soundtrack of carols, more than 150 people join in a hearty meal cooked and served by our dedicated employees and volunteers who offer everybody a warm welcome. At a time when most people are catching up with family and friends around a table laden with food, our Christmas lunches offer comfort, companionship and sustenance to people who have nowhere else to go and no one else to see.
Because at this holy time of the year when we celebrate the birth of Christ who gave everything for us, our hearts embrace everyone. I am so thankful for all in Baptist Care SA who love and serve those in our care and community.
words by
Sue Raw
CEO
Baptist Care SA
