By Angela Norval
To say this year has already been a busy one for the team at Angels Community Group is an understatement.
In an effort to raise money to provide services for those in need, Angels Community Group have hit the road with local motorcycle riders covering a 150km ride to fundraise, held their Angels Give a Can Winter Food Drive and even most recently cooked up a storm with the support of the community for their Angels Bake Sale as well as plenty more behind the scenes.
On Tuesday 17 October, Angels Community Group Sue Tasker supported by daughter Jasmine made the tough decision that Angels Community Group would not be doing Christmas hampers this year.
In an emotional Facebook live, Sue said the decision had not been an easy one to make, but they had been scrambling for eight years trying to start and run a grass roots charity.
“It’s hard and with no funding for our charity work it’s very tough,” Sue said.
“This year more than ever we have found it hard to raise donations and Angels Santa Assistance requires so many donations.
“We know we would have some people willing to donate but unfortunately it would just not cover the huge amount we would need.
“We will not put ourselves or our staff in a position to have to choose which family gets a hamper over another family, so this year we are having a break.
“Like they say on aeroplanes you have to help yourself before you can help others and we really need a break.”
Last year, Angels Community Group had put together 320 hampers as well as toys to help people have a happy Christmas and were thankfully to local businesses and the community for their support.
In letting the community know early, the Angels Community Group team are giving those in need the opportunity to research and sign up elsewhere for this kind of assistance, highlighting that the Mayor’s Christmas Cheer Appeal is working hard to raise money.
The Mayor’s Christmas Cheer Appeal raises funds to buy food to make hampers for local residents who need a helping hand to make their Christmas special.
In 2023, once again, the hampers will be distributed by participating Bundaberg region charities and community organisations.
Angels Community Group operations manager Jasmine Tasker said they were grateful for all of the community support for the years past.
“We understand everyone is struggling with the cost of living, so we know many people aren’t in a position to donate like they have in the past,” she said.
“Although we are not able to do these hampers, we still provide a support centre for the homeless six days a week, give out on average 100 food hampers a week at no cost, provide and deliver 280 school lunches a week, deliver for free welfare casts furniture and run a low cost grocery store for the community to shop at to help them stretch their dollar further.”
Angels Back to School Program is still to be decided on for 2024.
