Spreading Christmas hope

To say it’s been a tough year is an understatement, but for many people it’s been even harder and this festive season is a reminder of just that.

At Talaria in 2020 we have been fortunate to not only partner with the very special St Vincent de Paul Society Victoria (Vinnies Victoria) supporting their soup vans, but also have very generous clients also keen to make a difference in our community.

One such client Martin Kerrigan from Snellerman Tom in Queensland, generously donated 520 Christmas puddings from the venerable Pudding Lady in Newcastle, NSW to be distributed to those people and families most in need in Victoria, and our team were only too pleased to help make that happen.

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After arriving from NSW, the puddings journey from the kitchen to the front door continued when we sourced appropriate, home-grown community charities that could identify the best end recipients.

In the end the puddings were delivered to:

·       Foothills Community Care – Ferntree Gully

·       Kororoit Creek Neighbourhood House – Sunshine West

·       Cornerstone Contact Centre – Dandenong

·       West Welcome Wagon – Brimbank, Hobsons Bay, Maribyrnong, Wyndham

·       And of course, our very own St Vinnies –metro Melbourne

All very worthy causes covering many communities and backgrounds in our own backyards.

Kororoit Creek Neighbourhood House coordinator Bec said: “I distributed them to Westvale Community Centre (Kings Park) and Duke St Community House (Braybrook). These agencies and KCNH have distributed the puddings to community members through our emergency relief programs. They have been well-received and are much appreciated.

At Vinnies the puddings will be shared the week before Christmas in their hamper deliveries. Normally the soup vans are set up at a designated site for communities to gather and share a meal- this year hampers will be sent out with toys for kids, socks and toiletries.

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In addition, some of the pudds will be allocated across three soup vans – Fitzroy, Dandenong & Footscray, where they will be sent in hampers to crisis accommodation and the homeless currently housed in hotels due to COVID.

At Foothills on Friday 4th Dec, they are hosting a morning tea for women on their domestic violence help program. They are expecting 60-70 ladies to attend, where some of their puddings will be given out along with free second-hand clothes, underwear, pamper packs (toiletries), and toys for them to take home for their kids as Christmas presents.

In addition, while they usually do a 250-person lunch on Christmas day, because of COVID they are doing 2 booked out Christmas eve lunches, at 75 people at each sitting where puddings will be served.

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‍A big thanks to our generous client Martin, The Pudding Lady and well done the Talaria team for helping make this happen.

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