By Mikayla van Loon
Hundreds of donations have been collected and packaged by the team at Holy Fools for their Christmas Hampers.
Close to 300 hampers were boxed for those who are experiencing homelessness in the Yarra Ranges, making it the biggest year to date.
Last year all 200 hampers were gone in a flash so Holy Fools CEO Neal Taylor said they are hoping to increase the hampers to 250 this year but have well and truly exceeded expectations.
“We ran out really quickly last year. We handed it out to everyone that came to our Christmas lunch and we also shared it with other organisations that aren’t always able to do the same thing that we do,” he said.
A group of volunteers helped pack and stack hampers over the weekend of 18 and 19 December, ready for the Lilydale Community Christmas Lunch on Friday 24 December.
Everything from packets of biscuits to cereals, soft drinks, juices, jams, tinned fruit and pasta was donated by the generous community to create beautiful hampers for families and individuals who may have gone without over the festive season.
“Last year we had a fantastic response from the community and they gave us all the grocery items to help us pack over 200 hampers,” he said.
Taking to social media, the Holy Fools team said they couldn’t have done it again without the support of the people who helped put just one item of food in a hamper.
Councillor Tim Heenan also offered a hand on the weekend, continuing his support for an issue he has been quite vocal and passionate about over the years, particularly in his yearly sleepout that unfortunately couldn’t go ahead this year.
For the last six years, Holy Fools has been hosting the Christmas Lunch with local organisations like Tasty Az.
Due to Covid restrictions and health and safety, the Holy Fools team have decided to host the event outside in Melba Park in Lilydale for the second year.
“We’re over 12 years old now and we really rely on the general public and for us to make an impact as we have done, has really been around because of the community supporting us.”
