Help give joy to a young person this Christmas

THE Y Ballarat’s youth Christmas giving initiative, Bags of Joy, is set to distribute two hundred gifts to young people in need, aged twelve to twenty-one.

This year, the organisation’s staff are requesting financial donations to purchase gift cards worth $30 which can be spent locally.

Y Ballarat staff are steering away from physical presents to give young people the opportunity to enjoy a shopping trip and ensure they can buy something appropriate to their needs, and to limit waste going to landfill.

In 2014, Bags of Joy founder Jessy Malham approached the Y Ballarat with initial plans for the project.

“Nine years later, I look back and think about how incredible it is that the Y took on this idea that this random young person had,” she said.

“They supported me and empowered me as a young person, showed me that they genuinely care about young people in our community, and provided opportunity.

“They changed my life, enabling something that I didn’t have the resources to deliver, and Bags of Joy has since become this awesome thing that’s nearly been going 10 years.”

In the program’s first year about 50 bags were distributed, and that number grew to 199 in 2022.

It is the only Christmas giving program that focuses on the teen to young adult age group in Ballarat.

“This campaign can have such an impact, acknowledging young people and letting them know that people in the community are thinking about them, wishing them a happy Christmas, and wanting them to get something for themselves,” Ms Malham said.

“It’s a time of year when they otherwise may not have got anything.

“That’s what has been really important for me, and why I really appreciate people donating to the campaign. To average Joes it may not seem much, but it can make some kids’ years.”

Donations can be made at yballarat.org.au/bags-of-joy, or by contacting youth impact lead Asha Buckmaster at [email protected].

All donations of more than $2 are tax deductible.