Margie Maccoll
Four hundred Noosa families including 1000 children have been identified by care organisations to be in need of help this Christmas and, thanks to the outstanding efforts of Santa’s Classy Helpers, they won’t go without.
Santa’s Classy Helpers founder Lorraine Kenway said the number of people needing help had shocked her.
“It’s over 100 families more than last year. It’s really, really bad. We’re not only looking after disadvantaged families but the working poor,“ she said.
Nine years ago Lorraine, Rosie Grogan and Chris Parker approached Cooroy Families Services hoping they could provide Christmas treats, groceries, toiletries for 10 families in need and Christmas gifts to their children.
Over the years they have been joined by an army of volunteers, who due to the generous donations of locals, bring joy to the increasing number of families who are struggling.
“We put the call out for help and people stepped forward,“ Lorraine said.
For the past year, Santa’s Classy Helpers have been collecting items and fundraising for cash to buy others. They begin the week after Christmas to collect non-perishable items and, as the year progresses, the goods are held in people’s houses and storage sheds.
Toys are selected to match the age and gender of each child and The Produce Wholesaler from Coolum travelled to the Brisbane Markets on Monday to buy fresh fruit and vegetables.
This year a range of services including You Turn, St Vincent de Paul, Salvation Army, local churches and school chaplains referred families to Santa’s Classy Helpers.
On Tuesday from about 7.30am, families arrived at The J Theatre to roam the aisles of the group’s makeshift shopping centre to fill their trolleys with fresh fruit and vegetables, groceries, Christmas treats and a toy for each of their children.
Lorraine said each family would receive about $1000 in goods.
