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Gift of giving sparks Feed Me Christmas drive

December 23, 2021 BY

Feed Me Bellarine founding members Hilda Lee, Santa Claus (Feed Me Founder Anthony Woodbury), Margaret Gravett and Gabrielle Keesing standing with some of the gifts that were donated to families across the region. Photo: VINNIE VAN OORSCHOT

HUNDREDS of families throughout the Bellarine and Geelong regions will now get to provide their children with a gift on Christmas Day due to extreme generosity from other residents and Feed Me Bellarine.

Feed Me Bellarine has long been a staple food charity of the region, but like it does every December, it has added a little more cheer to those who are suffering more than usual this year.

According to founder and managing director of Feed Me Bellarine, Anthony Woodbury, he and his business partner Lana Purcell were able to deliver between 700 and 800 donated presents to families throughout the region over the span of
a week.

“We had been collecting presents over the last month and sorting through presents based on ages,” Mr Woodbury said.

“From there, we made the stops to all the relevant families and delivered presents, which brought so much joy to families all over the area.”

Feed Me Bellarine’s Christmas gift collection drive has been an annual tradition for the charity since they first commenced operation three years ago.

To help drive home the feeling of Christmas, Mr Woodbury dressed up as Santa Claus while Ms Purcell donned the title of Santa’s Helper dressed as an elf.

“Everyone loves the donations drive and everyone loves Christmas, it’s just that time of the year where everyone starts to catch that festive feeling,” Mr Woodbury said.

“Everyone deserves something for Christmas, and this just allows us to let these people know that there is someone there thinking about them – the parents really appreciate it.”

In addition to the Christmas gift drive, Feed Me Bellarine has decided to do something different.

As well as the presents that are donated, families also received recipes for different Christmas lunches along with the necessary ingredients to cook the meals themselves.

 

Founding member Hilda Lee loading presents into the Feed Me truck before the gifts were delivered to local families.

Mr Woodbury has also had time to reflect on the kindness and selflessness he and Ms Purcell have observed over the past 22 months in a time that would suggest seeing the opposite.

“This year in particular has been huge. Everyone is checking on each other, neighbours are asking everyone how they are doing,” Mr Woodbury said.

“I think everyone is now starting to know that there is more help out there than they thought before.”

Feed Me Bellarine is no longer accepting donations for its annual Christmas gift drive, but it is encouraging people to contribute to its Adopt A Crate campaign.

Just $10 is enough to have a crate of food delivered to a family.

More information can be found at
www.feedmebellarine.com.au/adopt-a-crate.