Toys under the tree for all

FOR more than twenty years, many thousands of toys handcrafted by the Ballarat Woodworkers Guild have been donated to the 3BA Christmas Appeal.

This week, at least 500 more were presented to the cause, and divided up evenly between welfare agencies, Uniting Ballarat, Anglicare, St Vincent de Paul and the Salvation Army for distribution.

Frank Stuart of St Vincent de Paul knows how valuable the handmade, long-lasting, quality toys are to families experiencing hardship.

He vividly remembers meeting a father and his son a few years ago while distributing hampers at St Patrick’s Hall.

“We had this young fella arrive, late 20s, and he had a little guy with him, about a three-year-old,” Mr Stuart said.

“The little fella had on a pair of black tracksuit pants that were longer than his legs, and when he pulled them up, he had no shoes or socks on, and a very tatty t-shirt on.

“He started tugging my leg, and he said ‘Mister, are we getting toys this Christmas?’ Whenever I tell that to people, I always get a bit emotional.

“This kid hasn’t had any toys at Christmas and now he’s going to get the first opportunity. It hits home. We really thank the Woodies for the work that they’ve done,” Mr Stuart said.

3BA Christmas Appeal’s Peter Caligari said there would be “many, many children” like this throughout Ballarat that would not have received a toy for Christmas, without the guild’s sustained support.

“It’s 40 years this year since I commenced the appeal, so it’s been a long, long journey, and fortunately one of our most important partners for more than half of that period has been the Ballarat Woodworkers Guild,” Mr Caligari said.

“Christmas should be a memorable time for every family and most importantly, every child is entitled to a visit from Santa.

“It’s organisations like the Ballarat Woodworkers Guild that’s making that possible. I’m not sure what we’d do without them.”

Ballarat Woodworkers Guild President, Ross Holst was grateful to Gay’s Mitre 10 for their support with timber and supplies, and to St Patrick’s College students for their assistance with painting.