Fatima Halloum
The Salvation Army is calling on residents to help support their annual Red Shield Appeal which aims to provide relief for people experiencing hardship.
The organisation hopes to procure funding for a number of programs including the community cafe, salvos on the go and emergency relief.
Wyndham city Salvation Army corps major Catherine Abram said they hope to raise $90,000 during this year’s fundraiser and all the money raised in the municipality will stay in the community.
“One of the things that we’ve noticed is there’s a lot of people that are really experiencing tough times,” she said.
“[People] might come in for a supermarket voucher, a fuel voucher…we might pay money for their myki, or they might come in and we pay for some of their pharmacy bills.”
Ms Abram said there’s no donation that is too small and there is value in everyone’s contribution.
“Not everybody can donate big amounts, but also somebody that might not be able to give anything might volunteer time, it can be people donating cans,” she said.
“When they go into the supermarket, they could go, ‘oh I’m gonna grab an extra packet of weet-bix’. There’s lots of things that people could do that can make our community better.”
The corps have currently raised almost $38,000, primary donated from local people.
“These businesses, they’re still doing it tough and recovering…but they’re still willing to continue to give,” Ms Abram said.
“When we can’t afford things, when we’re struggling we need to know…even though I’m doing it tough, other people within my community are willing to support me.”
Ms Abram said anyone in the community that requires their service is encouraged to reach out.
“It’s a fine line between doing well and not doing well, for some people it’s so beneficial to their mental health to come and have a meal,” she said.
