Time to foster joy with kids in care

25th July 2008

DISADVANTAGED children in the Gympie region will have great Christmas gifts to unwrap this year thanks to a few local organisations.

Gympie District Police, National Australia Bank (NAB) Gympie branch and Shepherds Retravision have joined forces for another year to put smiles on innocent faces of children who through no fault of their own will not be with their families this Christmas.

The program started last year with only 40 children in care on court orders, but the response was so generous, they have expanded to include kids in foster placement for other reasons, meaning a lot more children will receive presents this year.

The concept came to the attention of Gympie CIB's Detective Sergeant Gregg Davey, who is also involved with the Gympie Child Protection Unit.

A child in care was known to a staff member and Gregg's wife Kirie decided it would be a good idea to buy gifts.

The idea expanded through the Gympie police, and Glen and Michelle Shepherd's Retravision store sponsored the program, providing some fantastic presents.

The Department of Child Safety has given these charitable organisations the age, gender, size and wish list of every foster child in the area so the group can purchase suitable Christmas gifts. However, as this is a list that constantly changes with children going in and out of care, Mr and Mrs Davey are happy to wing it and progressively purchase presents that will match all age groups .

"The goal is to provide every foster-care child in the Gympie region with one main present this Christmas," Mr Davey said.

"Individuals can participate in the gift-giving program by calling in to drop off presents at NAB Bank. There is already a display set up with left over presents from last year and we are looking to add to that. People can buy one gift or as many as you want."

Gifts should be new and wrapped with a delivery tag tied to them specifying the age and gender the present is suitable for.

They can be delivered to NAB bank in Mary Street and must be ready by the beginning of December.

"This year we're trying to kick it off earlier to see how much money we can raise with a view of raising enough to give kids in care some great presents," Mr Davey said.

"We bought some great gifts for the kids with the money we raised last year and the more money we can raise, the more significant the presents we can provide. "And we managed to secure a lot more presents than the money we had through community donations and discounts."