Jan 8, 2016 | The Kindness Bank
This Christmas, wanting to be a blessing to the local community, Hands of Hope and members of Hope Church Brisbane rallied together for the Christmas Hampers Program. We were able to bring a hamper full of goodness to families around the Willawong region, predominantly in Inala, Durack, Doollandella, Forest Lake, Acacia Ridge and Pallara.
We collected and delivered a total of:
- 67 hampers
- 11 $30 gift cards
We thank local agencies Disability Services, the Chaplain of Richlands East State School, Early Childhood Services, the Hub Neighbourhood Centre and Inala Youth Services Supported Accommodation Assistance Program for connecting us with these families and wish everyone a wonderful Christmas and New Year!
Dec 5, 2015 | Blog
Running from 10am through to 1pm on Saturday, 5 December 2015, Hands of Hope pulled off its thirteenth year of Christmas 4 Kids. It was held at Unidus Communtiy Centre, Willawong, which provided a great outdoor space for young children and families.
Christmas 4 Kids first began in 2003 as an annual Christmas community event of Hands of Hope with the aim of bringing Christmas cheer to the southwestern community of Brisbane. This year almost 300 children and 200 adults attended the event.
It was a day full of fun and games with over 25 activities for the children such as jumping castle, face painting, animal farm, laser tag, and many carnival games. A team of dancers in animal onesies made a guest appearance halfway through the event, which children, especially the younger ones, thoroughly enjoyed.
Everyone was treated to a free sausage sizzle over lunch, as well as snow cones and fairy floss that were available. The wide array of desserts and sweet treats to top off the feed were kindly donated by volunteers.
Agencies, which service the local areas around Willawong, namely Queensland Police Services, Inala Youth Service and Anglicare were present at the event. They came equipped with information on services they provide, information sheets and fun activities to engage the children.
Cr Angela Owen-Taylor, Councillor for Parkinson Ward and Cr Milton Dick, Councillor for Richlands Ward also joined us.
Every child went home that day with a Christmas present each that was given out by Hands of Hope. Families were also treated to a free photobooth on site where they could bring home photos as memories of the day.
We greatly appreciate the 217 volunteers that helped both on the day and with the preparations in making this event possible!
We also thank and acknowledge the funding we received for this event from the Brisbane City Council Festival Funding Program and the Lord Mayor Suburban Initiative Fund.
Feb 28, 2015 | International Work
On the 28 February 2015, a Hands of Hope team of four embarked on a journey to Vietnam to provide an oral health education program to school kids aged between 6-11. This was done in partnership with Hands of Hope and through our local contacts in Vietnam, Peter and Ruth Truing.
While at Can Gio island, our team packed 14000 practice packs and gift packs, each consisting of water, cups, vitamin C tablets, milk, toothpaste, toothbrushes and face towels. Arriving at the first school, kids filed the open area in front of the school, excitedly looking at the “foreigners” who had come. Children were taught some theory on diet, frequency of brushing and how to brush. Then it was onto the practical. We quickly realised that these kids do not know how to hold their toothbrushes, let alone how to do the “circular motion” of brushing. Hand on hand practice was required, so volunteers went down the lines, providing guidance to each child. The team made it to 3 schools in total.
In total, we reached approximately 1,400 children – equipping them with basic oral health care disciplines, and providing each child with:
- a practice pack (containing toothbrush, toothpaste, water bottle, cup and face towel); and
- a gift pack (containing toothbrush, toothpaste, milk, vitamin C)
$5AUD to Change A Nation
On further calculation and reflection, it cost $5AUD to give 1 child the education, the gift, and the message that God loved them. The donation and support we received went beyond just showing a child how to brush teeth, but hopefully one step closer to changing a nation.
Dec 13, 2014 | Blog
Christmas can be a difficult time of year for some. Hands of Hope and Hope Gold Coast endeavoured to make Christmas a little bit more special in the community this year.
Themed ‘Simply Christmas‘, Christmas 4 Kids (Gold Coast edition) was held on Saturday, 13 December 2014. Christmas 4 Kids is Hands of Hope’s flagship event that has been running for over 15 years in the south-western suburbs of Brisbane; this is the first year of it coming down to the Gold Coast!
It was a day filled with Christmas cheer as over 100 people attended and participated the event. Over 60 children and families gathered around the enchanting tents of face painting, jumping castle and children’s games. Several hampers stocked full of household goods, treats and groceries to help fill the cupboards of many families, given out through lucky draws, were thoroughly enjoyed as well.
We also welcomed the partnership of YWAM on the Gold Coast. They brought a vibrant team and Christmas music to add on to the fun and Christmas cheer. A scrumptious sausage sizzle, chocolate brownies, cupcakes and Christmas treaties galore filled the tummies of hungry children and parents during the course of the day.
Dec 7, 2014 | Blog
The wet and uncertain weather certainly did not dampen our spirits, as 185 volunteers gathered at Unidus Community Centre for Christmas 4 Kids on Saturday, 6th December 2014!
Christmas 4 Kids is an annual Christmas event organised by Hands of Hope, the community arm of Hope Church. Its main objective is to generously bless the local community in the south-western suburbs of Brisbane, especially where there is higher disadvantage and lower income.
This year, we saw close to 300 people from the local community attending Christmas 4 Kids, including over 160 kids. This year’s theme was Simply Christmas. Wanting to keep the true meaning of Christmas as the emphasis, we decided to go for a laid-back approach with Christmas 4 Kids this year. Kids and families were free to enjoy over 15 carnival games and live music throughout. The kids had so much fun at our giant games, face painting, balloon twisting, arts and craft, tug-of-war, animal bouncers, and a variety of carnival games like ring-around-the-bottle and toss-and-win. Mario and his team also showed up for a dance performance and dance-along.
The highlight of the event was a storytelling session and Christmas carols. Here, the story of Christmas, about the birth of the Saviour of the world, was told in a fun and light-hearted way, topped off with some sing-a-long carols.
Despite the cloudy weather, we got the sausage sizzle running and were ready to serve some hungry kids and families by lunch. For the second year running, we asked for sweet treats and desserts donation, and this year, thanks to the generosity of our donors, we collected over 800 pieces of sweet treats, enough for everyone to have more than one piece!
Halfway through the event, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services showed up in their fire truck and Queensland Police Services in their police car to support this local event, as well as promote their services and safety in a fun way. The kids (and adults!) absolutely loved them, and had a fun time exploring the interiors of these vehicles and taking a few photos with them.
We were also joined by local community groups such as Headspace, Anglicare, Inala Youth Service and Australian Care and Trauma Services, who were present to engage with the local community and inform people about the services they provided. They too were well received by the kids and adults present.
It was a fun and engaging day at Christmas 4 Kids, with lots of laughter, joy and smiles in spite of the weather. We definitely cannot wait for Christmas 4 Kids 2015!
