20th annual Christmas appeal for local families
10 | GPH News – February 2019 135 children and their parents from
51 disadvantaged Brisbane families
received Christmas presents through
the 20th annual festive appeal by staff
at Greenslopes Private Hospital and St
Vincent de Paul Society Queensland at
Annerley.
Hundreds of Greenslopes Private
Hospital staff – including nurses,
cleaners, cooks, and admin workers,
have donated thousands of gifts to those
who may have otherwise gone without.
Presents included bikes, toys, gift
vouchers, household products, food,
clothing, and games. An additional seven
food hampers were also created for
single adults with disabilities.
Nurse Unit Manager, Cath Stewart, has
been coordinating this brilliant initiative
for 20 years.
“After two decades it is still so wonderful
and special to see our Greenslopes
Private Hospital community supporting
this project year after year. It’s also
amazing to watch how it grows, which
shows how much help is needed in our
surrounding community,” Ms Stewart
said.
Hospital teams were each allocated
specific families for whom to buy
presents. E.g. staff may have been told
their particular family included a mother,
7-year-old boy, 5-year-old girl, and
2-year-old boy.
“The hamper collection is a chance for
staff to give back, and everyone certainly
looks forward to shopping for their
allocated families each year,” Ms Stewart
said.
On collection day, staff placed their
presents under the large Christmas tree
in the main foyer of the hospital.
“The foyer is always brimming with
presents – it’s absolutely heart-warming
to see,” Ms Stewart said.
Trucks transported the gifts to Mary
Immaculate Catholic Church in Annerley.
Corporate supporters and Vinnies
volunteers collated the gifts and
delivered them to the corresponding
families – all on the same day.
Vinnies Queensland’s Annerley
Conference President, Frank Ford, said
the hospital’s generosity enabled Vinnies
to brighten Christmas for dozens of local
families in need.
Rhonda Griffin and Jamie Bailey unloading presents for the Christmas Appeal