Kimberly and Jay
Two of the “Be an Elf Xmas” letter donation recipients in 2015 were Kimberley and her brother Jay, who have had a very troubled upbringing. After years of neglect, they were taken in by their grandmother, but when she passed away in a car accident, they found themselves on the streets. As you can imagine things began to unravel. MAD, after meeting these children through the “Be an Elf Xmas Appeal” was able to assist them to find a safe home, along with specialized emotional care. We can do wonderful things, but we rely almost entirely on private donations to keep our doors open and our young people urgently need your help to break the cycle of hopelessness.
William
MAD is making a huge difference out there in the local community. Take the wonderful case of a little boy called William. When William was ten, all he dreamed of was a potato bake and pork chops meal, which he put on his Christmas wish list. A generous elderly lady, who lived alone was moved by his letter to Santa, so she baked and froze multiple bags of potato bake for William. She brought it into our MAD community center just before Christmas and began to unload her car. Unfortunately, the food was frozen and we had to inform her William’s family were living in their car and thus could not keep the food. She went home and returned with an esky full of freshly cooked potato bake and pork chops, with the additional commitment to return every few days with refills. Over the subsequent year William enjoyed many of his favourite potato bake meals and the older lady came to know William’s family and started a lasting friendship. The family finally found somewhere to live with MAD’s help and are now getting back on their feet. The older lady has become the family’s adopted nanna and is an important part of their life.