As the weather gets warmer in South East Queensland, it’s a strange combination of excitement and stress that carries us into the Christmas season. For those of us who are lucky enough to have time with our families, this can be a time of connection, joy, and (most importantly to the kids) presents. In our little part of the world though, there are still many children who never get to have the Christmas that they dream of. We at Mothers Against Drugs (M.A.D.) are doing our best to change that.
The Be an Elf Xmas Appeal has been helping children in underprivileged homes to have a better Christmas since 2006. As this is our tenth year working on this campaign, we are hoping to make this Christmas bigger and better than ever before!
Many people we speak to find it difficult to believe that the hardships we see every day could even exist in a part of the world, as developed as coastal Australia. Violence, drug abuse, hunger, and homelessness speak to us of places far away; of people who we will never meet. Unfortunately, due to many existing social issues in our country, people in need rarely speak out, and a child in your neighbourhood, your child’s school, or sports team may be suffering and need a helping hand over the holiday period.
Domestic violence, drug abuse, poverty and homelessness are a secret shame in our society. Rarely spoken about, and seldom seen in public, these issues are in fact growing in many parts of the country. In the Logan region of South East Queensland, there are over 500 children, under the age of fifteen, who are designated as homeless. These are young people who you would pass in the street, living lives of quiet desperation.
We at M.A.D, however, through our volunteering see what most people don't. We have delivered Christmas presents to houses with no furniture and electricity. It is common to discover that the young people are living in very insecure situations. They may be couch surfing, living in cars or in crowded housing commission homes, with two to three families sharing.
The Be an Elf Xmas Appeal volunteers aim to bring some hope into the lives of young people in Southeast Queensland by collecting Xmas Wish List letters from the disadvantaged children. In these “letters to Santa” the children state what presents they would like for Christmas, and our amazing donors generously fill these requests for them. All the gifts are collected from the donors and then delivered to the homes of the children, before Christmas Eve every year. The requests are surprisingly not very difficult to fill, with most gifts consisting of necessities, that we in a more privileged environment would take for granted. Underwear, socks, school lunch boxes, sheets for their beds, towels, clothing, toothpaste and other personal hygiene products are some of our most commonly requested items. These children rarely ask for much, their expectations about what they can have in life have been crushed, due to their exposure to extreme poverty and hardship.
The Be an Elf appeal was very successful in 2015. We received national coverage in News Corp publications, The Daily Mail, and South East Qld. Quest Newspapers. Please feel free to check out our past projects page to see some detailed examples of children we have worked with. Be warned though, some of these stories can be quite heartbreaking.
If you are interested in being an Elf Helper for Christmas 2016, all you need to do is contact us. We have been collecting letters from children in the most disadvantaged areas for the last few months, and sadly there are hundreds of them. Last year we filled 800 letters. A letter will be forwarded to you as a donor, and you will be asked to fill it to the best of your ability. Even if you can’t fill the whole list yourself, just one item on the list would brighten the life of a child in need. You can also register as a group, perhaps in the office or workplace or as a group of friends and offer to fill one or multiple letters together.
Please be generous to unfortunate children this Christmas. Help us fill the Be an Elf Xmas Appeal letters. Items do not have to be new, simply in good condition. Books for example, that your children no longer need are excellent presents. We also happily receive gift certificates and vouchers, which we pass onto one of our volunteers, who will go shopping for the child and insure that they get exactly what they need. This year we are also glad to accept toiletries (lip balm, makeup, tooth paste etc.), which we will be sending to children in Indigenous Missions in outback Queensland.
Once your letter has been filled, we accept all donated gifts at our drop off center. The center is open now, at 1253 Ipswich Rd, Moorooka, and will be accepting donations up to and including the 22nd of December. We are also arranging a drop off point in the Brisbane CBD. Alternatively, just ring us and one of our volunteers can pick up donated gifts in our commercial vehicle, the Elf Truck.
The kindness of our donors over the years has brought more joy than you could imagine to the children that we work with, and we at Mothers Against Drugs are astounded by the generosity we see. Merry Christmas!
Please feel free to read more about us, read stories about our past projects, contact us to register as an Elf Helper, or donate directly to Mothers Against Drugs to help fund future projects.