All about giving

St Vincent De Paul Regional President Tony with Shellharbour Mayor and Mayoress David and Moira Hamilton

PEOPLE are urged to support the Mayors Giving Tree Appeal again this year.

The annual appeal has been successfully running for two decades and this year Shellharbour Council will again join forces with the St Vincent de Paul Society in Oak Flats to collect and distribute gifts to about 450 children throughout the region who might otherwise go without.

Also supporting the campaign are the management and store holders of Stockland Shellharbour.

The Giving Tree is located outside Coles supermarket. Shoppers are invited to take a name tag from the tree, purchase a gift and leave the unwrapped present, with the name tag attached, in the Stockland Giving Box also outside Coles, or at a number of Council locations including libraries, the Administration Centre or the Blackbutt Youth Centre.

Residents may also donate unwrapped gifts without attaching a specific name tag and all gifts will be distributed by St Vincent de Paul staff in the week before Christmas.

Mayor David Hamilton said families are very fortunate to have people like the St Vincent De Paul Society to assist them in times of need.

It is a fantastic thing to be able to make Christmas worthwhile for families who would other wise miss out, he said.

St Vincent De Paul Regional Manager Geoff Warrington said last year the appeal helped with Christmas presents for about 600 local children.

About 420 food hampers were distributed over last years Christmas period.

He said despite a much appreciated, great response from the community they were not able to collect enough presents through the giving tree last year to distribute them to all of the children in need and so the St Vincent De Paul Society had to reach into their own pocket, spending about $4000 that could have been spent on other projects.

People can donate wrapping paper if they wish however presents should be unwrapped, the St Vincent De Paul Society will wrap them.