THE CHRISTMAS PROJECT 2024 Gethsemane Community Inc
The Christmas project began in 1994 out of an awareness of the poverty and social isolation of residents of Licensed (now Assisted) Boarding Houses. As a result of advocacy, legislative change and effective monitoring, living conditions have improved. The NDIS has reduced social isolation. However, residents still have little personal money and very few have regular contact with family or friends.
As these people move to group homes or aged care, they remain poor and friendless. We maintain contact and have followed some people since 1994.
PERSONAL GIFT PARCELS
This year, our data base has 822 names. This means that, in 2024, 822 men and women across NSW received gift parcels of perfume or aftershave, socks and lollies. These people were in varied living situations:
- 6 Assisted Boarding Houses
- 37 Group Homes
- 24 Aged Care facilities
- 2 large Disability Care organisations which care for people in group homes or apartments
- 14 people living independently with support
5 schools packed and delivered 336 parcels and Gethsemane packed and delivered 469 parcels.
TOILETRY, FOOD AND GIFT HAMPERS
450 hampers containing a complete range of toiletries, enough basic food for three days, festive food, and a calendar were prepared for clients of:
- Redfern, Marrickville, Croydon and Canterbury Mental Health teams
- The Outreach treatment team at Croydon
- Royal Prince Alfred and Canterbury Drugs Health teams.
- St Paul’s Anglican Church Burwood food pantry
CHRISTMAS CARDS
A coded system allows interested people to send a personal Christmas card to one of the 822 people on our data base. In 2024, about 8,000 coded labels were distributed. Cards come back to the Gethsemane post box and are re-directed to the actual facility where the individual lives. Potentially, each person could receive at least 5 cards. These people never receive personal mail, so the cards are greatly enjoyed. They are often used to decorate a person’s room or the walls of a boarding house.
CHRISTMAS LUNCH
This year, there were 16 guests, 4 carers and 10 volunteers. Drinks and nibbles were followed by a full Christmas lunch and then presents were distributed.
Excess gifts were taken to RPA Drugs Health. Tinned food and toiletries were taken to St Paul’s Anglican Church in Burwood, which provides food and other items to many people in the area. Fr James has set up a food bank in the church grounds. Excess food following Christmas lunch was taken to Denroma at Marrickville, an Assisted Boarding houses for people with disabilities.
SUPPORT RECEIVED
- Christian Brothers High School Lewisham (Primary section) packed and delivered gifts for 175 residents without family in 7 aged care facilities and 15 group homes
- St Therese Primary, Mascot provided gifts for 97 residents in two large aged care facilities
- Mount St Joseph, Milperra provided gifts for 54 residents without family support in two aged care facilities
- Corpus Christi Primary, St Ives provided gifts for 39 residents in two assisted boarding
- houses
- Chevalier College at Burradoo provided gifts for 30 people in an assisted boarding house and 94 people in a large disability organization
- Our Lady Star of the Sea Primary at Hurstville donated toiletries
- Parishoners from and visitors to St Patrick’s Church Hill donated $25,431.60
- Michael Whelan SM, parish priest, the Marist community and the parish team were deeply supportive of our Christmas project again this year. They have been our greatest supporters for well over 20 years
- Marion Court Units donated tinned food and a donation
- Rhonda and Tony Tanti ran a food drive at St Joachim’s parish at Lidcombe. This was strongly supported by Fr Epeli
- MacKillop Grange Retirement Village donated a large amount of tinned food for hampers and individual donations. Caroline Grace , in administration, was most helpful and supportive, liaising with Bernadette O’Sullivan RSJ, who is a resident
- Rhonda and Tony tanti worked tirelessly to order and secure delivery of groceries, then sort, stack and pack hampers
- John Star and Elizabeth Croucher helped pack parcels and hampers
- Kathy Wilson wrote names on all 822 labels for the gift parcels
- Rhonda Tanti spoke at all morning Masses at St Patrick’s on Dec 3rd and John Star spoke at afternoon Masses
- Members of the mental health and drugs health teams worked on packing hampers and assisted in delivering them
- Bernadette O’Sullivan SJ cooked Christmas puddings
- Ann Tegg and Liz Croucher decorated the carport
- Tony and Rhonda Tanti drove across Sydney delivering gift parcels. They also took parcels to Umina and Katoomba. John Star delivered gifts to Southern Highlands Disability Trust at Goulburn
- Phyllis and Mark Coghlin took down the decorations and stored items for next year.
Christmas Day
- John Star, Monica Teo, Rhonda and Tony Tanti and Liz Croucher organized and ran it all, in conjunction with Myree. Three young Indonesians: Mario Ekartra, and Niki Jayanthi were great workers as were Monica and Kathleen Diviny and Clare Holland and Philippa Johnson helped.
CHRISTMAS CARDS
Bernadette Chad prepared the data-base and checked names over six months.
Bernadette Chad and George Harris sorted, packaged and re-posted or delivered many thousands of Christmas cards addressed to 822 people in 69 facilities. They drove around or walked to nearby places to deliver some of them. They did this during the whole of December and into January.
Thank you to everyone who participated.
Myree Harris RSJ