	{"id":125311,"date":"2025-12-25T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-24T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/?p=125311"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:05:19","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T00:05:19","slug":"community-support-tops-100k-in-meli-appeal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/community-support-tops-100k-in-meli-appeal\/","title":{"rendered":"Community support tops $100k in Meli appeal"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>MORE than $100,000 has been raised to support Geelong families and individuals through this year&#8217;s Meli Giving Tree Appeal.<\/p>\n<p>Now in its 25th year, the appeal supports people accessing services through Meli, The Sexual Assault &amp; Family Violence (SAFV) Centre, Cultura, The Orange Door, Wathaurong and DFFH Child Protection.<\/p>\n<p>Funds raised through the campaign will be distributed as e-gift cards, giving recipients the dignity to purchase essential items according to their needs.<\/p>\n<p>Meli chief executive, Robyn Hayles, described the response as a powerful example of what can be achieved when the community unites behind a cause.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The generosity of our community never ceases to amaze us,&#8221; Ms Hayles said. &#8220;This year, your kindness will make Christmas brighter for hundreds of families.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;A heartfelt thank you also goes to our generous partners whose support makes a big difference in providing hope and joy to locals facing challenges.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The SAFV Centre chief executive, Kerriann Campbell-Jones, said the appeal would provide practical assistance for people experiencing hardship.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Thank you for the incredible generosity you have shown in supporting the Meli Giving Tree Appeal,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We know how valued these gifts are to the people we support, and the kindness it shows \u2013 that their community cares for them.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>This year&#8217;s appeal was supported by the Anthony Costa Foundation, APCO Foundation West Carr &amp; Harvey and GMHBA.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>MORE than $100,000 has been raised to support Geelong families and individuals through this year&#8217;s Meli Giving Tree Appeal. Now in its 25th year, the appeal supports people accessing services through Meli, The Sexual Assault &amp; Family Violence (SAFV) Centre, Cultura, The Orange Door, Wathaurong and DFFH Child Protection. Funds raised through the campaign will [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/community-support-tops-100k-in-meli-appeal\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":216,"featured_media":125447,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-125311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Community support tops $100k in Meli appeal - Geelong Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Meli Giving Tree Appeal raised over $100,000 to provide Geelong families with essential e-gift cards and community support.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/community-support-tops-100k-in-meli-appeal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Community support tops $100k in Meli appeal - 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