This is a really rough time for a lot of people. In Australia more than 1 in 3 famillies will rely on charity to get enough food to eat, let along to make it special. This is astounding (and shameful frankly) in such an affluent country (obviously we are not). While not of this solves the overall problem that needs to be addressed, here's a few ways to help if you can.
As we learnt in A Christmas Carol, if nothing else, Christmas is a time to give and remember the less fortunate.
My personal favourite is Wayside Chapel's Give a Plate Christmas appeal. They "urgently need to raise $1,650,000 by 25 December to make sure the vulnerable members of our community are fed and supported this Christmas". Do your bit to make sure no one is alone this Christmas.
Hampers of Hope Addi Road needs to pack over 2000 hampers for families in need. Note businesses can also donate items on this page too. But for most of us, there's a link to help pay for them.
I have been alerted to, but know nothing about The Man's Bag - like the Share the Dignity campaign, you create a bag for men.
Mission Australia has a campaign where they've produced this song - you can donate here.
Food Bank is also running a Christmas appeal - the food bank report is not a good reflection on us, with high numbers of families living with food insecurity. (see details here)
Check your neighbourhood facebook groups as there are always people or shelters asking for stuff. As my freind no longer organises the assisted living campaign that I used to donate to for years, this year when I saw the call out for a shelter for people trying to get over addicition and other issues, I go a box of gifts together for them. Last year I did the same for a different youth homeless shelter. I've just seen an individual in hard times offering to pick up all your cans for the return and earn (I already box mine up for a guy who gets them each week - please don't make people go thru your rubbish - separate them for them).
Lastly, because it is Australia, consider bush fire appeals - for WA there's a whole list here but please verify, I just found it on google. The Red Cross also.
The Sikhs are pretty active in helping the community in lots of ways - definitely a religion that walks the talk when it comes to feeding the poor or helping out in floods and fires. You can donate to Sikh Volunteers Australia or Turbans4Australia (In the 2019 bushfires I was dropping off pasta and canned tomatos to a tea importer wheo took one of his trucks off the road to fill it with donated food items to take to the relief centres to feed all the displaced people and firemen and women - that was my first discovery of Turbans4Australia).
There are devastating floods in our northern neighbours at the moment. A few ways to donate there - and please verify, again just googled. Caritas Australia, IFORCS, BlueDragon (Vietnam).
Christmas is a time for giving, and it's a time to strive to show love, kindness and hospitality to others.
So give what you can, where you can - and if you are really struggling, find the options of help available. There are plenty of food hampers or cheap food bank shopping all over the city.
And just as an aside, from a BP email "Since 2017, bp has proudly partnered with OzHarvest, donating fuel and funding to keep their vans on the road. From 19 November 2025 to 13 January 2026, when you purchase any of the participating products at a bp store,10 cents from every product sold will be donated to OzHarvest."
Feel free to link your favourite charities in the comments.
The Sikhs are pretty active in helping the community in lots of ways - definitely a religion that walks the talk when it comes to feeding the poor or helping out in floods and fires. You can donate to Sikh Volunteers Australia or Turbans4Australia (In the 2019 bushfires I was dropping off pasta and canned tomatos to a tea importer wheo took one of his trucks off the road to fill it with donated food items to take to the relief centres to feed all the displaced people and firemen and women - that was my first discovery of Turbans4Australia).
