FamilyCare and our Baskets of Joy partners Greater Shepparton City Council and the Greater Shepparton Foundation, have greatly appreciated your support for our Christmas campaigns over the years. That support has helped us to brighten Christmas for many vulnerable families and children.

Christmas activities are going to be impacted by COVID limitations again. It seems for at least one more year we will not be able to allocate and distribute items as we have in the past. Even as restrictions ease between now and Christmas, activities that involve large numbers of people in close physical proximity, are unlikely to be safe or permitted.

We have decided reluctantly that physical baskets will not be possible again this year. We have decided to rename Baskets of Joy to Sharing the Joy; an online donation platform created for us by Greater Shepparton Foundation.  This provides the opportunity for individuals to donate funds that will be converted to food vouchers for recipient’s families.   If you would like to make a donation please click here

Download a Sharing the Joy flyer

Frequently Asked Questions

If you wish to donate gifts or vouchers, there is a list of local donation sites available below or please contact Katie (khuddleston@familycare.net.au or call 03 58237059) to arrange collection or delivery.

FamilyCare Donation sites/ Wishing Trees can be found at these sites.  Thank you for your donations which will be distributed to children and families we work with this Christmas.

 

Christmas is the biggest spending time of the year and there’s often pressure to spend more than we can afford. Start preparing now to take a little bit of the pressure off.

BUDGETING

• Start now by putting aside a little bit of money each week. Make a savings account that is set aside just for Christmas.
• If you start putting away $50 per week in October and November, you will have $400 saved by December 1st. Your Christmas gifts are paid for! What a relief!

GIFTS

• Set a realistic dollar amount for gifts for each child and family member. There will always be other families who spend more or less than yours – and that is ok
• Buy practical gifts – for example, if your children need clothes, bedding or school bags, then they might love some of these as Christmas presents – especially if they are in the theme of their favourite superhero.
• Buy gifts that will keep the kids active and entertained through the summer holidays – such as board games, craft activities, books, and sports equipment. This way you don’t need to spend money on Christmas presents PLUS more money on school holiday activities.

FOOD

• Start purchasing a few non-perishable food items each week and storing them away for Christmas – this way you are spreading the Christmas food costs out over a number of months. You can do this with soft drinks too. Make sure the kids don’t find your stash and raid it!

AVOID AFTERPAY

• Be careful with Buy Now Pay Later – whilst it might help you out in a pinch today, it will also create a bigger pinch in the following weeks!
• Avoid it if you can.

BACK TO SCHOOL

• Don’t forget that Christmas and “Back to school” is a financial double whammy! The better you prepare for Christmas, the easier it is to survive the new school year.

Ask for help!

• Sometimes the numbers just don’t add up and Christmas feels overwhelming. If you want to make a plan but don’t know where to start or just can’t see how to make it work, ask your case worker for help as early as possible.

 

Do you or your children want to play a sport or join a physical activity club or group? Are funds the only thing stopping you?

Sporting Chance has been established to ensure all Greater Shepparton residents can actively participate in sport and recreation, regardless of their means, through access to small grants. Greater Shepparton City Council together with The Community Fund and FamilyCare aim to provide social and recreational opportunities that enhance the lives of community members.

Playing sport and being physically active coupled with healthy eating is one of the best ways to live a long and healthy life.

One of the biggest barriers to playing sport for some children, young people and adults is cost.

Sporting Chance is here to assist and can fund registration and membership fees up to $80 for approved applicants

Read more ……

Applications open Friday 19 March 2021 and close Friday 9 April 2021

Like the rest of Australia, our region is also being affected by the COVID19 pandemic. This information will help people who use FamilyCare’s services to understand our responses.

From Tuesday the 24^th of March, FamilyCare’s offices will be closed to all visitors. Please telephone us to discuss the service options that remain available, on:

ChildFIRST Shepparton:        1300 854 944

ChildFIRST Seymour:            1800 663 107

Other contact numbers for our various offices are available on the Contact Us page.

We will return to normal services as soon as we can. At the moment, this is the best way to maintain access to some support but stick to the rules for social distancing.

Here are some other sources of reliable and up-to-date information.

DHHS VIC – Coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
Health Direct – Coronavirus (COVID-19)