Echuca Moama Community Projects co-ordinator Julie Langdon has been the driving force behind Christmas lunch and hampers for the local community for over a decade.
The heart-warming initiative blossomed when Mrs Langdon discovered a crucial need for such services in the community.
“About 12 or 13 years ago, when I used to work at St Luke’s Anglicare, someone rang and asked if I knew of any services that put on a Christmas lunch on Christmas Day,” she said.
Recognising the need to extend the joy beyond a single meal, Mrs Langdon compassionately introduced Christmas hampers.
“I was mindful that the lunch guests could have a really exciting, hopeful day, be surrounded by heaps of people for four hours, then go home to a unit on their own, and that would hit them in the face,” she said.
“So, we decided to do the Christmas hampers so they can unpack their hamper when they go home.
“It is full of traditional Christmas goodies and a little Christmas present.
“Then the Riv came on board, and they do the hamper drive for me.”
This is where you can help.
Over the next month, Echuca Moama Community Projects and the Riverine Herald are inviting the community to join hands in creating 100 hampers brimming with festive cheer.
This will help spread Christmas cheer to those who otherwise spend Christmas alone.
Here is how it works:
STEP 1: Each week, purchase the week’s items from an Echuca Moama business
This coming week, starting Monday, November 25, the item is a green bag, decorative or cooler, and Christmas bonbons.
STEP 2: During weekday office hours, drop the item into the box at the Riverine Herald office at 28 Percy St, Echuca.
STEP 3: Your item will be added to a hamper.
The hampers are given out at the Christmas Lunch at the Echuca Moama Uniting Church on Christmas Day, spreading Christmas joy!