MAKE IT A REAL CHRISTMAS CHRISTMAS APPEAL 2018 SCHOOLS KIT

Transcription

1 MAKE IT A REAL CHRISTMAS CHRISTMAS APPEAL 2018 SCHOOLS KIT

2 MAKE IT A CHRISTMAS FILLED WITH JOY VINNIES A CLASSROOM CHRISTMAS ACTIVITY APPEAL With 2.9 million people currently living below the poverty line in Australia, including over half a million children, your support allows the St Vincent de Paul Society to provide more than immediate help, it provides something much more valuable the opportunity for a better life. This year we are again inviting schools to join with us in making a difference to people s lives, by giving hampers or donating goods that can be made into hampers. It is recommended this project runs in Term 4 as a whole school activity. A brief explanatory letter and poster will be posted to your school by Week 1 to help you get started. Please contact your local Vinnies Conference or team member (contact details on the last page) to help you get started and for information about delivery of donations. ONLINE RESOURCES Visit youthnsw.vinnies.org.au for additional resources such as certificates, additional speaking notes and facts, activities and educational resources, related to this Appeal and more. 2 CHRISTMAS APPEAL 2018 SCHOOLS KIT

3 CASE STUDY - JARED S STORY A couple of years back, Jared s family didn t know they d find themselves standing in a park, homeless. Fortunately, they reached out to Vinnies. Thanks to the generosity of Vinnies supporters, they didn t have to face a Christmas without joy. We were just living a regular life, just doing what you do, you know? Jared explains. Working, paying the bills, nothing extravagant. We weren t going on any holidays, we weren t doing anything fancy. We were just living pretty straightforward. Yet health problems led to the family losing earnings, which led to overdue rent and bills, and ultimately eviction. It just came to a head and a couple of hours later, the sheriffs came up at the door. With the help of their dedicated Vinnies case manager, we were able to stop a difficult situation becoming worse. It was actually like pulling us out of a pit, recounts Jared. Getting us into a bed and breakfast I don t know where we would have gone that night. I literally have, even now, no idea. Vinnies also helped with everything from food vouchers to arranging an accountant to recover tax benefits, and organising volunteers to recover their possessions. The whole family moved in to Vincentian House, one of the State s few crisis accommodation and case management service for families and women. We were there for the Christmas of 2016, says Jared, which was a wonderful blessing right there, because they were doing amazing things. They just made every child in there feel safe and good, they really turned it on. Again, it was the details that counted. The small ways that Vinnies can help, particularly at Christmas. I mean, we had things like the food hampers, the food vouchers. Small gifts. Things like that. When you are living on a tight budget, $10 means a lot. And $30 means a great deal. The last day that you want to be in a dark place obviously is over Christmas, Jared concludes. But Vinnies gives people a sense of hope, it pulls away some of the despair. What s more important than that? CLASSROOM ACTIVITY A CLASSROOM ACTIVITY SEE Read Jared s story (above). THINK How do you celebrate Christmas? What sort of food, presents and traditions does your family have at Christmas? What sort of things would you need to go without if you were in a situation like Jared s family? What support would you want at Christmas time? DO Check the next page to see what actions you can take to help people in need this Christmas. Watch the video clip on the VinniesAU YouTube Channel Why does Eve donate to Vinnies? ( 3

4 HOW A CLASSROOM SCHOOLS ACTIVITYCAN HELP HAMPERS GIFT CARDS An easy way to organise the hampers is to allocate families to different homerooms and/or class groups. Christmas hampers are given to a range of individuals and families who have called upon the help of the St Vincent de Paul Society through their local Conference, or through Youth Programs, homelessness and refuge support services. The list of items over the page are suggestions only. We recommend students look at the needs of the family and adjust the hamper accordingly. To uphold the dignity of those receiving the hampers, please ensure that all food items are not due to expire for another six months. It s important to remember your hamper must contain non-perishable food items. If you would like to donate perishable food items such as chocolates or ham it is best to do so by donating a gift voucher so that families can select what they would like during the holidays. Families know what is on their child s wish list this Christmas, but many are worried about how they are going to afford to put any gifts under the tree this year. We can uphold the dignity of these families, by allowing these parents to choose the gift their child will receive on Christmas morning. Gift cards from local toy shops, cinemas, department stores or online vouchers give the parents plenty to choose from when selecting their child s present. Gift cards are a great idea for parents and other adults too. BEFORE YOU GET STARTED Your local Conference members are helping people every week, so they know the needs of your local community best. They also help distribute the donations from your school, so it s important to check in with them to see how you can best help this Christmas. If you don t have a point of contact for your local Conference, get in touch with your local Vinnies team member (contact details on the back page of this kit). 4 CHRISTMAS APPEAL 2018 SCHOOLS KIT

5 Hamper ideas Christmas pudding Custard Tea Coffee Milo Long life milk Sweet biscuits Candy canes Fruit cakes Jams Christmas cake Pancake mix Lollies Couscous Cereal Dried fruit Fruit mince pies Savoury biscuits Muesli bars Pasta Pasta sauce Vegemite 5

6 FINANCIAL DONATIONS One of the most valuable ways to show your support and contribute towards real and positive change is by fundraising for Vinnies. For us, it s a simple equation. The more funds raised on our behalf, the more we can help the more than 5,000 people who turn to Vinnies for help every single day. $15 will buy school shoes for a child doing it tough $30 will give a mother and child a bed for a night $100 can pay for a week s worth of groceries for a family. $200 will provide someone with a safe place to sleep for a week. SHARE YOUR EFFORTS! It s always a great idea to share what you re doing with your school community to get more support and raise awareness. Some ways you can share your good works with your school community include: school newsletter; school website or social media; school assemblies; and putting posters around the school (included in this kit). Use this kit as inspiration for your speech, newsletter clipping or announcement! FACEBOOK.COM/VINNIESNSW INSTAGRAM.COM/VINNIESNSW TWITTER.COM/VINNIESNSW YOUTUBE.COM/VINNIESAU 6 CHRISTMAS APPEAL 2018 SCHOOLS KIT

7 THIS YEAR, OUR SCHOOL IS HELPING THE VINNIES CHRISTMAS APPEAL BY... FOR MORE INFORMATION, YOUR SCHOOL CONTACT IS: 7

8 INFO TO HELP MAKE THE APPEAL PRESENTATION TIPS Before you present, develop a personal message as to why you care about homelessness and think it s important to help others this Christmas. Have you or someone you have met faced some of these? Have you seen firsthand the impact a small show of kindness can have? Sharing your personal story and showing people why you care deeply is a powerful way to get people ready to work alongside you. Begin by introducing yourself, sharing your personal story, and your connection with the Society (if you re involved in a Vinnies group in your school, or if you donate and shop at Vinnies and believe in the great work they re doing). Share some of Jared s story, or some key facts and statistics. Check the list below to see how much support Vinnies provided in your area last Christmas. Share some information on how people can get involved in the appeal (this will depend on what initiative your school is running). Thank the audience for the opportunity to speak. Plan to be available to answer questions after the assembly/gathering. ASSISTANCE PROVIDED BY VINNIES Across NSW, over $4 million dollars worth of assistance was provided by Vinnies to people experiencing disadvantage last Christmas period November January Check the list to see how much assistance was offered in your area, and how the impact of Christmas hampers adds up! Central Council Worth of assistance provided Worth of Christmas hampers provided Armidale $170,599 $15,820 Bathurst $287,960 $98,316 Broken Bay $375,931 $22,321 Lismore $682,483 $25,548 Maitland/ $625,691 $48,961 Newcastle Parramatta $378,993 $84,850 Sydney Arch $1,023,914 $32,634 Wagga $415,446 $51,631 Wagga Wilcannia/ $247,486 $38,335 Forbes Wollongong $444,388 $29,386 8 CHRISTMAS APPEAL 2018 SCHOOLS KIT

9 THE POVERTY TRAP Struggling to just keep the lights on and make rent, with barely enough money left each fortnight to buy food. This is the reality for close to one in seven Australians at Christmas time. In 2014, 2.99 million people in Australia were living below the poverty line. Poverty especially hurts children. One in six (17.4 percent) children under the age of 15 lives in poverty in Australia. 1 RISING RENTS AND ELECTRICITY PRICES The lack of affordable housing is pushing everyday families into poverty. Across Greater Sydney and the Illawarra, less than one percent of rental properties are affordable to families and individuals on income support, 2 and close to 55 percent of lower income households renting in the private market are in housing stress. 3 Accessing social housing is next to impossible in some areas, with waiting periods exceeding 10 years in major cities. 4 In addition, the costs of many essential goods and services, including health, education and utilities, are increasing faster than wages for many families on low incomes. Since 2008, average residential electricity bills in NSW have increased by 45 percent. 5 Even the cheapest offers available on the market are unaffordable for many people on low incomes. In 2016 to 2017, Vinnies distributed more than $5 million in Energy Accounts Payment Assistance (EAPA) vouchers in NSW, an increase of $825,000 in just over two years. While costs are increasing, wage growth is slow and income support payments remain inadequately low. Many of the people we serve work; in fact, around a third of people living below the poverty line received wages as their main income. 6 However, neither income support payments nor low-paid, insecure and unstable work are providing enough money to afford the basics of a decent life. For many families, homelessness can become a grim reality. In NSW, approximately one in every 250 people experience homelessness each night. 7 Our homelessness services in NSW struggle to meet the level of need. Each day, two in five people seeking shelter are turned away by homelessness services that are already operating at capacity. 8 People seeking asylum are especially vulnerable as they are at the mercy of unfair Federal Government policies. Recent government changes to support services have left hundreds of people seeking asylum at risk of destitution and homelessness as they struggle to find employment or are often not allowed to find employment. 1 Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) 2016, Report on poverty in Australia, ACOSS, p Anglicare 2018, Rental Affordability Snapshot Available: ras_2018.pdf (31/08/18) 3 Households experiencing housing stress spend 30 percent or more of their income on rent. 4 Department of Family and Community Services (FACS), Housing Pathways: Expected waiting times by geographic region. Available: (5/01/18) 5 ACCC 2017, Retail Electricity Pricing Inquiry Preliminary Report, September. Available: Retail%20Electricity%20Inquiry%20-%20Preliminary%20report%20 -%2013%20November% pdf 6 ACOSS 2016, Report on poverty in Australia. 7 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2012, Census of Population and Housing: Estimating Homelessness, 2011, ABS. Available: ures/2049.0?opendocument 8 AIHW 2017, Specialist homelessness services annual report

10 OTHIS BOOKMARK BELONGS T THIS BOOKMARK BELONGS TO ACTIVITY: WRITE A MESSAGE OF HOPE TO SOMEONE THIS CHRISTMAS. DEAR FRIEND ACTIVITY: COLOUR AND CUT BOOKMARKS. MAKING WISHES COME TRUE CHARITY IS INFINITELY INVENTIVE St Vincent de Paul 10 CHRISTMAS APPEAL 2018 SCHOOLS KIT

11 DEAR FRIEND ACTIVITY: COLOUR AND CUT GIFT CARDS. DEAR FRIEND FROM FROM DEAR FRIEND DEAR FRIEND FROM FROM 11

12 CONTACT US If you have any questions, please contact your local Vinnies team: Armidale I Bathurst I Broken Bay I Lismore I Maitland Newcastle I Parramatta I Sydney I Wagga Wagga I Wilcannia Forbes I Wollongong I youthnsw.vinnies.org.au