The Wellington Care Centre is so grateful to have been included in the Knox Be Kind Campaign. Please read the article below written by the Knox Council.
Christmas celebrations are looking a little different for many this year, but the Wellington Care Centre in Rowville has found a new way to help community members in need.
‘The Well’, an emergency food relief program run by the organisation, has run an onsite Christmas lunch for the last 13 years, providing hot food and good company to those who need it most.
“We’ve been unable to run the lunch this year, for obvious reasons,” says Centre Manager Jennifer Coombs. “So instead we’re providing people with hampers containing all the ingredients they need to prepare a Christmas lunch in their own home.”
Each hamper contains chicken, turkey, vegetables, Christmas cake and pudding, custard and bon bons along with treats like chocolate and pamper items like hand cream. There are also gifts for children and single adults. To cap it off, the hamper contains a handmade table decoration made by one of the crafty volunteers.
Jen and her team of volunteers have been busy purchasing the groceries and presents, packing and wrapping the 60 hampers and delivering them to recipients. “We’ve at least doubled the food relief program this year,” she says. “It’s a different demographic – there are people from a range of backgrounds, including those who are recently unemployed because of the events of 2020.”
Along with a Community Development Grant from Knox Council, The Well has partnered with Foodbank and benefited from the donations and in-kind support of so many good-willed people in the community.
“People have been really thrilled and grateful and there are often tears,” says Jen. “It has been a very difficult year.”
#BeKindKnox #KnoxActsofKindness
