For children it is a time of magically receiving gifts from Santa or his representatives.  

At CatholicCare we are a bridge between the generosity of community members who have extra to share and less well off community members who are financially struggling to provide a fair go for their children at Christmas. 

It is both a joy and a dilemma for us to play this role. We do not want to further marginalise people by making them feel they have to be dependent on charity, as though they have failed to provide for their own children. 

We want to assist people to develop hope rather than to be further disadvantaged by feelings of difference and guilt.  

Saving, choosing and purchasing a gift for your own child is something we all cherish. 

So how do we try to strengthen the role of the parent?  

When we receive gifts and vouchers here at CatholicCare from the community, we will try at all times to allow the parents to choose gifts themselves that they know their own particular child will love.  

And if we receive vouchers we will give them to parents to do their own shopping. Our workers are the “postmen” if you like. 

It is our job to be the link between those who have given and those who receive. The kudos for giving must be attributed to the giver, not us as the “postman”. 

Sure, it makes us feel good when we are the ones who are informing the parents that there are gifts that are available to them for their kids for Christmas. 

But we weren’t the ones who made the donation... and so we should not get any of the accolades. These belong to the donor, not the “postman”. 

We would never say that CatholicCare have some gifts to give away (they’re not ours)… but we’d simply explain that we have been given the responsibility of distributing them on behalf of the people who donated them.

While it is true that every now and then we may get a parent who will use the voucher for something other than a gift for their child, we should not design our system around that small minority.  

We want to value and encourage the strong commitment the other 99 per cent of parents have for their children. And anyway, maybe the one per cent will use it to free up cash for Christmas dinner.

If you are able to make a donation to CatholicCare, please be assured your donation will help a child (and their parents) to have a happy Christmas.

I would like to take this opportunity, on behalf of all the workers here at CatholicCare, to wish everyone a very joyous family time for this Christmas. 

Donations may be made to Peter Richardson, PO Box 255, Bendigo 3552.

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