Families in financial crisis will have food on the table this winter thanks to the hard work of St Jude's Anglican Church Dural and the generosity of the local community.
More than 100 parishioners door knocked about 2,000 homes around Dural last Sunday to collect more than 8,400 items of non-perishable food for Anglicare. A number of local schools and supermarkets also supported the program by allowing the parish to collect goods on their premises.
The generous collection by the Anglican Churches of Dural, Arcadia and Kenthurst will provide food for about 4,320 people by supplementing Anglicare's Emergency Relief program at Rooty Hill for the next nine months.
Rector Fergus Semler was greatly encouraged to see the way the whole parish " from children to youth group members, to senior members of the congregation " joined in to support Anglicare again this year.
"It also gave people in our local community a context to understand something of our church and the stories of generosity and encouragement that came back with our parishioners were particularly good to hear," says Fergus.
The welcome donation comes at a critical time for Anglicare.
"During winter, we see a greater number of struggling families and individuals who turn to us for emergency relief such as food hampers, electricity and water vouchers, chemist vouchers and emergency clothing," says Anglicare CEO Peter Kell.
According to Anglicare's own research into the need for financial support to pay electricity and gas bills, approximately 47% of people requesting emergency relief last winter did so for the first time.
While the reasons were varied, in many cases people found themselves in situations they were unable to prevent.
"Unfortunately instances where a husband and father walks out on his family leaving the wife and children stranded without short term cash, or young people made redundant without a safety net in the short term are all too common," says Mr Kell.
Despite 15 years of unprecedented economic growth, the 2006 Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey showed that downward mobility is a reality.
One in ten of the richest 20% of Australians in 2001 were in the bottom half of the income distribution by 2003.
Common factors associated with downward mobility stated in the report were the disintegration of the family unit, unemployment, having more children and illness.
Last year Anglicare’s Emergency Relief program assisted over 20,000 families in Sydney and Wollongong through generous community support.
Anglicare (Diocese of Sydney) is the urban mission and welfare arm of the Anglican Church in Sydney.
The organisation operates a wide range of programs including family support, the provision of care for the frail aged through its nursing homes and community care programs, people with intellectual and physical disabilities through respite care, as well as those suffering financial hardship through emergency relief.
Photo: Tim Goldsmith
To support Anglicare’s work ring 13 26 22 or visit the Anglicare web site.
