Thousands of Australian children will not receive a gift in the upcoming December holiday season simply because their families can’t afford it due to poverty, so women from the Perth Australia Southern River Stake (diocese) Relief Society recently collected gifts to donate to The Smith Family Christmas Appeal for those in need.
One of the key purposes of the Relief Society organisation is to 'work in unity to help those in need'. With that mandate in mind, Latter-day Saint women (aged from 18 years onwards) were encouraged to purchase a gift for a child in accordance with The Smith Family guidelines and bring it to a “Christmas in July” activity to place under a Christmas tree. The gifts collected will help the organisation achieve their goal to deliver more than 75,000 new toys and 50,000 new books to children in need around Australia.
Volunteers will be enlisted to sort, pack and deliver the gifts so they are ready for Christmas morning.
Sue Noney, the Stake Relief Society President, remarked, “The sisters who participated in the activity believe in the precept contained in The Book of Mormon reference from Mosiah 2:17, stating that ‘when you are in the service of your fellow beings, you are in the service of your God’.
This project will provide an opportunity to bring a smile to a child’s face this Christmas.